Cabaret Boy
by MisseditbyThatMuch
Summary: "This is Écarlate. Better watch your step... or your desire may get the better of you." Even the infamous investigator, Sebastian Michaelis, cannot help himself from slipping under the spell of the club's star entertainer. AU & OOC
1. Ch 1 Écarlate

_**A/N:**__ This idea was swimming around in my head ever since I finished watching Burlesque (again) - yeah I realize how sad it is that this is what I got from that movie XD. I admit some of it was partially inspired by a dance number a friend learned when her class did a section on Cabaret- which is sort of like burlesque; theatrical dance and song performances often done in a club. If you want to know more on cabaret, look it up on google (make sure to find a link not referring to the musical Cabaret). Part of my friend's dance inspired Ciel's introduction number. _

_So, not that it isn't obvious or anything, but extremely AU and OOC. I'll update based on the interest, so more interest = more frequent updates. _

_**Disclaimer: **__ I don't own Kuroshitsuji...yada yada yada...none of the characters I torture are mine...etc. Only the plot belongs to me :D_

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

The Écarlate was a nondescript building, that neither stood out or blended in with the ones around it. The bricks on the outside were aged and covered with a layer of city smoke, and the windows blacked out with thick drapes. The only signs it boasted were perhaps older than the square building itself and were impossible to read when they weren't lit up, which was how they stood during the hours of daylight. The only impressive feature was the fact that it sat on the corner of the two intersecting streets, staking claim to an miniscule amount of lawn beneath an iron firescape. Otherwise the building held no presences on the street side.

That being said, it wasn't surprising that Sebastian Michaelis hadn't noticed it before tonight, even though the man passed it everyday to and from work. To be honest he probably wouldn't have noticed it at all had work not kept him unexpectedly late tonight. The back up of all the paperwork required to be read over and signed was substantial, the investigator was practically drowning in it. As it was he'd still yet to complete it all and had been forced to bring some with him when he finally departed from work.

The hour was just reaching eleven when he turned the corner onto the thirty-second avenue. Sebastian glanced down at his watch and sighed, before stuffing his hands back into the warmth of his coat pockets. For being this late into fall the weather was particularly mild, but still cold enough to draw discomfort from the man. He was looking forward to the warm apartment just three blocks away and the comfortable bed that promised a pleasant rest for the evening.

Sebastian was nearly at the end of the street when the lights caught his attention. Compared to the dim golden light cast from the various street lamps, these illuminated the entire street corner and much of the building across from it. A hundred naked bulbs illuminated the front entrance, dancing on and off in a pattern across the row. The sounds of laughter and low pitch of a cello drew his attention left where his eyes met the club.

The sight was baffling to the investigator. At first he was unable to remember the building, nothing about its appearance now so much as hinted to the dead sort of look it disguised itself with during the day. It was alluring and somehow, as strange as the idea was to Sebastian, seductive.

"Alois! You're on in ten!"

The female shout caught Sebastian's attention, drawing it upwards onto the firescape where a blonde was currently relaxing against the rail. The figure's slender form was covered with a thin silk robe of a bright scarlet that neither appeared to be very thick or protective against the nipping cold. Slowly, the figure snuffed out a cigarette and turned enough for Sebastian to be able to see a profile of a face.

Crimson eyes widened. It was a boy. Sebastian stood frozen with bewilderment as he watched the young adult stretch and let out a satisfied murmur. From afar and from behind the boy had looked just like a girl- and if Sebastian wanted to be honest- still held some feminine features.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming, Madame," he grumbled, sliding the robe off as he disappeared through the door connecting the firescape to the building.

Sebastian remained staring up at the firescape for a few more moments, before his curiosity got the best of him. It was just all too interesting not to go find out what was going on in the building that had two different appearances.

The investigator wandered up the path to the front entrance and quietly slipped in. An entrance hall stretched out before Sebastian, the walls painted a dark blue were barely seen under hundreds of different picture frames. Peering closer at them as he passed by, Sebastian was surprised to find newspaper clippings and full layout posters promising acts. His eyes lingered particularly on one poster in particular, unable to decipher the image completely.

"Yeah, I'm know be quick about- Oh! Where you heading in?"

Startled Sebastian jumped backward, eyes flying to land on the girl standing in the hall just ahead of him. She giggled at his expression, her mahogany ponytails bouncing with her light laughter.

"Did I startle you?" She smiled. "I'm sorry about that, I just thought you were going inside."

Conflicted Sebastian, stuffed his hands in his pocket and masked his confusion behind a calculating gaze he directed at the girl. Wandering into strange places wasn't normal for him, but curiosity was. The investigator thrived on it and it often came in handy on the job, but it did have it's moments when it caused more trouble then good.

Directing his chin towards the hallway behind the girl, he asked, "What is inside?"

Confusion pulled her eyebrows together, "You don't know...?"

He remained silent as the girl seemed to confirm her suspicions and nodded to herself.

"This is Écarlate. I can't really explain it very well in words. It's more of those things you have to see for yourself, you know?" She babbled. "Oh, I'm Mey-Rin by the way."

"Sebastian," the investigator responded back, eyes flickering to the hallway before looking back at Mey-Rin. For the first time he took in her outfit. Short black shorts fit snugly on the woman's hips, accenting her shapely legs which were made to appear longer by the monster heels she wore. A white blouse with quarter sleeves was left unbuttoned on the top, before it was cut off by a black corset just above the bust line. The outfit wasn't necessarily trashy considering much of the fashion running amuck on the streets these days, but it was sensual enough to catch his attention.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked, cutting through his thoughts as she gestured behind herself.

Briefly glancing at his wrist watch, he debated if going further inside was worth it. The time read a quarter past eleven, but knowing he needed to be at work early the next morning made him weary of the number. His curiosity though was spurring him to peek inside, and currently it was winning.

"Maybe for a few minutes," he sighed, running a hand through his black hair as he gave in.

Mey-Rin smiled, clapping her hands together excitedly, "Then follow right after me, Mr. Sebastian."

The investigator followed the girl down the hall where it suddenly hooked a right. A fogged glass wall marked the official entrance of the club, where a glass door was propped open to reveal just a quick glimpse of the dimly lit interior. A bouncer was seated behind a booth near the door, a black hat leaning heavily to the left side of his golden head of hair as his eyes watched the people inside rather than the approaching pair.

"Finny!"

The bouncer jumped slightly and turned quickly to see Mey-Rin. A goofy smile appeared on his face as he waved unnecessarily in the direction of the girl.

"I thought you were taking your break, Mey-Rin," he exclaimed.

The girl laughed and waved a hand towards the investigator. "I was, but then I ran into this guy. It took some convincing to get him to come in."

Finny peered around the other to lock gazes with Sebastian. The investigator said nothing as the other looked him over, before smiling widely as if he'd just met someone he hadn't seen in a long time rather than a man who he had just been introduced to.

"Welcome to Écarlate! I'm Finny," he jutted his hand out excitedly.

The black haired investigator took it and gave it a firm shake, before introducing himself for the second time that night. "Sebastian."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Sebastian," the boy responded happily. "If you're planning on heading inside I'll need twenty, it's the rules."

Without much hesitation, Sebastian took out his wallet and removed a twenty dollar bill; unintentionally revealing the entire contents of his wallet to the two hovering closely beside him. Mey-Rin's mouth dropped open with a pop as she watched the investigator shut his wallet and cut off her sight of the stack of green. Her brown eyes shot up to share a look with Finny, who also was still frozen with shock at the sight he'd just seen. Both nodded at the same time, drawing a frown from the black haired man.

"Is something the matter?" He inquired, crimson eyes darting from one to the other.

Mey-Rin was the first to react, quickly rearranging her expression as she shook her head from side to side. "Nope."

Still suspicious of the two, Sebastian nodded slowly before edging his way towards the club door. "Can I go in now?"

Finny nodded quickly, "Enjoy your time with us!"

Sebastian gave a curt nod before disappearing into the dimly lit club. The first thing he noted was that it wasn't what he had been expecting. There was no crowd of bodies dancing or scantily clad girls removing more of their clothing. Instead tables were spread out on three levels, surrounding a stage towards the back of the club. More employees dressed similarly to Mey-Rin wove through the tables with glass tubes filled with sparkling alcohol on trays. A pit was situated near the stage where a live jazz band played music to entertain the crowd. It was what was on the stage itself that drew the man's full attention.

The blonde boy he'd seen earlier on the firescape was seated backwards in an iron wrought chair at the center of the stage. His long legs, which were scarcely clad in a pair of leather shorts and ankle boots with a six inch heels to them, were spread apart to accommodate the back of the chair. His chest was covered by a small black vest, that rode up his torso when he suddenly leaned backwards and swayed in semi-circle before righting himself again.

The investigator watched on as the boy moved sensually in a dance, going from a seated position till he was crouched in the chair using the back as a support while he shimmed his way up and down. The entire time his mouth moved, letting out a voice heavy with sensual desires as he sang a song foreign to the black haired man. The blonde crossed one leg over the other, draping a foot over the back of the chair as he bent halfway backwards, dragging a hand along his body when he lent upright again. The trill of a trumpet accented each move he made, heightening the sensuality already oozing from the entertainer.

"He's good, isn't he?" Mey-Rin prompted, as she appeared besides the investigator.

Sebastian chuckled softly, "I couldn't tell you. I've never been to a club or show like this before."

Mey-Rin giggled, "Alois is certainly talented at what he does, one of our best dancers. He's also only one of our two male entertainers."

"There's another?" Sebastian asked, black eyebrows arcing up his pale forehead.

The club employee winked, "Stick around till midnight and you'll see what I mean."

Sebastian frowned, he wasn't planning on sticking around that long; actually if he had followed his original plans he would have left minutes ago. His curiosity should have found itself sated with the quick glance around, but as it was, the raven haired investigator was finding that it was only growing as he spent more time within the club. Something about Écarlate was intriguing and it wasn't just the unusual set up or flashy show the entertainers were putting on for their audience.

"Come on this way, I'll introduce you to Claude our bartender," Mey-Rin giggled, turning around so fast she teetered off balance.

The investigator noticed the tilt and reached out a hand to steady the girl. Once he was sure she was safely righted once more, he released his hold on her arm earning an embarrassed smile from the club employee.

"Thank you," she quickly mumbled, flushing red. "Grell is always telling me that I need to practice wearing heels. I'm too clumsy in them, he says."

Silently Sebastian agreed, but he didn't voice this out loud. Instead he flashed a small crooked smile that brought a darker blush to the female's cheeks. She giggled, quickly covering her mouth with a hand when she realized the sound had escaped her mouth.

"Ah, wasn't I going to introduce you to Mr. Claude," she rushed, turning quickly and heading towards the bar.

Sebastian followed behind her, occasionally having to step out of the way for a passing server with a tray weighed down with alcoholic drinks. Unusual red eyes would flicker back towards the stage periodically as he made his way, taking in the on going performance. By the time the man reached the bar there was a new entertainer on stage with a group of back up dancers.

"Claude! I'd like you to met a new comer. His name's Sebastian," Mey-Rin called out to the man down the bar.

Sebastian leaned forward onto an empty spot along the smooth granite counter top. A dark haired man was currently mixing a concoction of drinks together, adding some ingredients that made the investigator's noise crinkle up. When the male finally noticed the attention directed his way, he put down what he was doing and approached them, leaving his work to a female barmaid.

"Mey-Rin, wasting your shift showing another new comer around?" He asked emotionlessly, golden eyes landing on the black haired male.

Mey-Rin nodded eagerly, oblivious to the other's disinterest. "He was lingering around upfront so I dragged him in here I did."

Claude grunted, before looking at Sebastian. "Is there something you want?"

The black haired man waved the offer away. "I'm good."

When he realized there was no sale to be made he turned around and left without another word, leaving Mey-Rin and Sebastian alone. She sighed, fixing her pigtails before turning so that she leaned against the counter much like Sebastian was doing, except whereas the male looked every inch attractive and removed, she appeared awkward and slightly stiff.

"Ciel should be up soon," she mumbled.

No sooner had the words been spoken the already scarce lighting in the club dimmed to complete black. A gentle hum picked up in the silence that had ensued as everyone's attention turned towards the stage at the front where a soft blue light was illuminating the very center. A small lump was laying across the ground, indistinguishable until it began moving.

"This is Écarlate," a soft voice cut over the lulling sound of a gentle thrill of a cymbal. "Better watch your step... or else your desire may get the better of you."

A leg curled elegantly at the knee before straightening up into the air and competing a small arc over the figure's body. As the leg crossed over the dancer's body, the torso moved upright into a sitting position as they twisted their body slowly. Soft tresses of a gray black covered the entertainer's face from the crowd, but it was obvious he was male even though everything about him seemed feminine to Sebastian.

Soft curves were accented by a form fitted vest of a dark gray color and a pair of shorts that fitted his hips snugly before they bloomed outwards, only to be pined back tightly to the boy's thigh. Hanging from his hips was a large gathering of ruffled white fabric that moved fluidly every time the boy swayed his hips for the audience. He was petite even with the elevated heels he wore making the stage seem dauntingly large in comparison to him, though he didn't seem to let this bother him as he took control over the entire thing.

Completely mesmerized by the entertainer, Sebastian watched as the boy moved gracefully about the stage in a well practiced number. Every move was fluid and executed to perfection. His voice floated above the instruments, neither too deep or too high but undeniably laced with seduction as he rolled his hip sensually or ran delicate fingers over bare shoulders.

"Hush."

The song died away as the boy twisted around from his position seated on the floor, his back turned to the crowd as he spread his legs out in an erotic display. As the audience erupted into whistles and claps, the boy delivered a wink before the curtain dropped and cut the sight of the beautiful creature away from the crowd.

"Impressed?" Mey-Rin asked, turning to face the raven haired man.

"Very."


	2. Ch 2 Inevitable

_**A/N:**__ Oh my gosh, thanks for all the support on this! You guys are amazing. Your favorites, alerts, and comments have meant the world to me- especially your comments, some of them had me squealing and smiling like a complete idiot. _

_Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, because it's all for you guys._

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Even long after the main shows had ended, the night was still far from being over at Écarlate. Minor acts still entertained the audience of couples, friends, and singles from on stage. Often these small skits consisted of barely concealed sexually crude humor that kept the drunk crowd laughing long into the morning. Those entertainers already finished with their numbers were allowed to leave for the night if they had nothing more to do, which came as a relief to the cobalt haired teen.

Ciel messaged his sore feet backstage, glad to be rid of those pinching heels at last. His one sapphire eye gleamed in annoyance as he worked out the aches from his muscles. It wasn't that the boy hated his job, though he would admit he wouldn't have chosen it for himself, but the pay was better than many other jobs and the hours were perfect for his college schedule which was all he could ask for at the moment.

"Heading out already?"

Ciel grunted, dropping his foot and placing it back on the ground as he looked up to see the uninvited guest. The blonde boy was leaning casually against the vanity, still dressed in the costume for his performance. He grinned broadly as he saw Ciel's attention was on him and moved so that he sat comfortably on the vanity top, shoving aside all the containers of makeup and forgotten accessories.

"What do you want, Alois?" Ciel grumbled, moving away from the boy perched on his vanity.

Alois pouted, "You're always so harsh to me, Ciel. Why can't you be nicer?"

Ciel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, as the blonde continued his whining. "It's because you make it impossible," he snapped, a single sapphire eye flying open to glare at the other.

"You know you love me," Alois giggled, getting over his hurt rather quickly. "Or else you wouldn't keep my contact on your phone."

The blonde held the other's cell phone out to prove his point, the glaringly obvious name and number laid out plainly for Ciel to see. The smaller boy snatched the phone back, before promptly stuffing it into the pocket of his sweats where he believed the other wouldn't have the balls to go get it. Though knowing Alois that probably wasn't true.

"I need it in case you have to fill in for me," Ciel grumbled, staring anywhere but directly at the blonde.

"Oh Ciel! You really need to learn how to lie better!" Alois howled with laughter. "I've known you since junior high and every time you tell a lie you can't look the person in the face. So predictable!"

"Do not," Ciel denied, his gaze directed just behind the other's head.

Alois quieted his laughter, ocean blue eyes sparkling with an untold promise of mischief yet to come. Ever so slowly he leaned forward till the point where the two boys' noses were barely brushing against one another. Ciel's eyes widened but he was frozen in place as the other locked gazes with him.

"Do. Too." With each word, the blonde poked the other playfully in the nose with his long pointer finger.

Ciel slapped the hand away from his face, "Asshole."

"Love you too, Ciel," Alois giggled, playfully blowing a kiss at the other.

"You're impossible. Did you know that, Alois?" Ciel retorted, turning away to gather his stuff.

The blonde shrugged, as he leaned back. "I've heard worse."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Ciel muttered to himself, as he slung his backpack over one shoulder.

"What was that?"

Ciel smirked, "Just talking to myself, Alois."

The blonde fanned himself playfully and sent a coy look at Ciel, "Were you talking about moi? And about how much you wish to fuck this?"

To further prove his point, Alois dragged a hand slowly along his scantily clad body drawing attention to the large patches of skin revealed by the small vest and even smaller pair of shorts. Ciel rolled his eyes at the display, used to the other's antics by now and turned to get the last of his things without sparing the other a second glance.

"Why would I be doing that?"

"Because you love me," Alois giggled.

"That's far from the case," Ciel replied snidely a smirk playing on his lips. "Just thinking about you makes me soft."

Alois pouted his bottom lip outwards, "Cruel, Ciel. Cruel."

The cobalt haired boy smirked without restraint and gave a mock bow. "I only try my hardest."

Alois tried to keep his face straight, but failed and ended up succumbing to a fit of hysterics. Ciel rolled his eyes at the blonde. Knowing Alois he'd be kept here all night, and a quick glance at the dressing room clock revealed just how much he couldn't afford that. The single sapphire orb disappeared as Ciel released a small sigh that went unnoticed by the laughing blonde.

"You leaving already?" Alois gasped, wiping a tear from his eye as he overcame his fit just in time to see the other trying to make an inconspicuous get away.

Ciel turned halfway around, his hand hovering over the brass knob. "I have classes in two hours."

"Aw, can't you skip for once? I want to hang out, Ciel," Alois whined.

Ciel shook his head, "I can't skip or else I'll never reach my goal."

Ciel's expression slipped into a scowl as he watched the blonde mock him with his hands acting as mouths while emitting small high pitched murmurs. Still pantomiming the other, Alois smirked when he caught the other's gaze on him.

"I'm going now, Trancy," Ciel muttered.

He quickly opened the door, ready to get away before he was put even more behind schedule then he was. Already he knew he'd have to cut some of his usual morning routine out; such as a short snooze to regain some much needed energy. With any luck he'd have to stop at a general store to grab an energy drink to carry him through the long stretch of classes, but that was only if he could find time.

"See you later, love!"

Ciel rolled his eyes and flipped the other off, before rudely slamming the door behind him. The brisk morning air rushed to greet him, wrapping around his small body and causing him to bury his hands deeper into his sweat jacket. His warm breath curling into a white fog as he breathed out heavily, moving down the firescape.

The damn sun wasn't even up yet, but Ciel expected that as he took the back gate entrance to the street side. It was the same every morning, getting out of work at three was all part of the job, especially when said job was at Écarlate. The club ran right up until the sun broke the horizon line and then everything was shut up until the next night.

Ciel decided that the walk to his apartment in the morning was perhaps the most peaceful part of his day. It was the only time when the nineteen year old was allowed time to think to himself without being interrupted by unwanted attention or lectures. The streets weren't crowded with pedestrians at this time and he had the entire thing to himself; seeming the only person in the city. Ciel liked it that way it.

But all good things come to an end.

Three blocks away from the club and staking claim to an entire side of a block was the proud glass building roaring hundreds of stories into the dark sky. The overhang was well lit with hidden white lights and a doorman dressed in elegant black stood stone-like near the revolving entrance. The man's pale face was set in a stern line, his dark cap tipped formally towards the front to shade his eyes from view.

Everything from the darkly tinted glass to the man by the door made Ciel's mood darken considerably. It all was his personal definition of hell since his childhood. No hint of happy memories dwelled within the steel frame of the building, only pain and loneliness.

The doorman barely registered Ciel's presences besides a soft grunt as the boy slid through the revolving doors and past the man without a word. He was very well aware of the fact that the people here didn't approve of him and only tolerated his presence because of the money being shoveled into their greedy hands by his inheritance and hard earned cash. If it weren't for his father's reputation, he doubted even that would be enough for them to allow 'bastards' into their facility.

Hurrying across the lobby, he shrugged off the glare he felt burning holes into his back as he quickly pushed the floor number into the glass elevator. The silver doors couldn't come closed fast enough for his liking. As soon as the heavy metal blocked out the sight of the lavish black and white lobby, Ciel slumped back against the far wall of the elevator and closed his eyes.

"Time can't seem to go by fast enough."

The elevator lurched upwards.

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><p>The thump of a thick stack of paper meeting his desk, caused Sebastian's head to shoot up from the current file he was signing off on. Crimson eyes followed the path of the papers upwards to the gruff man currently leaning over his desk with a cigarette lazily resting at the corner of his mouth.<p>

"Can I help you, Bard?" The raven haired investigator inquired, as he set down the file in favor of regarding the male before him.

The blonde grunted around his cigarette. "As a matter of fact, you can."

Sebastian smirked at the flat out demand from the man. On any other day he might have given the blonde hell for demanding anything from him, but today he was in a surprisingly good mood which was frightening in itself for anyone who knew him well enough.

Leaning across the expanse of his desk, Sebastian flipped the top sheet of paper around so that he could read the writing. His eyes scanned quickly over typed font, blacked out in places with marker and various changes scrawled into the side margins with pen. The title caught his attention and quickly his gaze leapt back up to Bard.

"These are the files on last case," Sebastian's lips tugged into a scowl. "Why haven't they been logged already?."

"That's the problem," Bard grumbled. "Them bastards left this on their desks for a week before leavin' it on my desk this morning."

Sebastian sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. He didn't know why he bothered to be surprised anymore. With the amount of work that had to be constantly picked up by himself and the few members of his team that were actually capable of their job, nothing was ever achieved. It seemed that with every year the rookies just got lazier and lazier. They came in just for the thrill of solving cases like they've seen on tv or in the movies, not realizing the other hard work that is involved. This left them slacking and the others picking up on the work they refused to do.

"Just leave it here," Sebastian answered. "I'll get to it after this."

At the other's words Bard's eyes moved to the other piles of papers littering the desk so thickly the mahogany wood wasn't visible beneath it. Sebastian's own gaze followed and he gave a disgruntled sigh at the sight. The work seemed endless at this point and if the trend continued, he figured he'd be repeating last night's task of bringing work home with him at the end of the evening.

"Are you sure... I can always get someone else to help, boss," Bard mumbled sheepishly. He ran a hand over the back of his neck guiltily as his eyes darted from his boss's face to the papers and back again.

Sebastian waved the worry away, "I'll do it."

"Boss, you sure? You've been workin' harder then usually lately."

"Bard, I said I'd do it," the investigator stated firmly, ending all room for arguments.

Without another word Sebastian turned back to the papers he'd been signing before he'd been interrupted by the other male. He flipped one of the sheets over so that he could access the other paper stapled to the back and reached for the nearest pen.

"Bard."

Sebastian didn't lift his head from his work, but was aware that the other male had stopped in the process of leaving the office; standing somewhere between the threshold and the hallway just outside.

"Yes, boss?"

"Have you ever heard of the night club Écarlate?"

Finished with signing the paper, Sebastian looked back up to meet the confused gaze directed at him. Making sure to be careful about wearing an expression blank of anything that would led the other to be suspicious, Sebastian watched as Bard ran a hand over the back of his head.

"I've heard of it, if that's what you mean."

Sebastian nodded, eyes going back to the work on his desk. Disappointment weighted him down, though so did relief. Honestly he'd been looking to pry some information out of someone about the mysterious club he visited last night and perhaps even find something out about the star entertainer. The boy was still lingering on his mind from last night, he couldn't possibly help but think of that majestic little minx that put on such an erotic display so flawlessly. He'd never found himself this interested in any one person before.

"Is there any reason you're asking?"

Sebastian shook his head and leaned back in his chair, "Curiosity. I heard some rumors that sparked some interest on the subject."

Buying it Bard nodded, "Is there anything else you need, boss?"

"No, I'm fine."

With another nod the blonde left, leaving Sebastian alone in his office once more. Waiting a few minutes until the sound of the other's footsteps faded, the raven haired male sighed once more to himself and turned to glance out the window.

"I suppose it's inevitable."

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><p><strong>AN: Ten reviews that's all I ask for before I upload the next chapter. Ten! You guys can do it!**


	3. Ch 3 Cop Out

_**A/N:**__ So I decided to upload this one early in celebration of Ciel's birthday- which ironically ends up being the chapter Ciel and Sebastian meet... Whoops! Did I reveal something?... Silly me ;) _

_I hope you guys enjoy and thanks for all your nice reviews- especially Swt Cutie, that last one made me laugh, squeal, and then fall out of my chair in hysterics when a friend asked me what the hell was wrong with me from the pervious reactions. Yes I'm weird, I just learned to accept it by now. If I were normal half these fan fictions probably wouldn't be in existence. _

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><p><strong>Chapter Three <strong>

Twirling his ankle around in a quick circle, Ciel made sure to keep his eye glued to the dainty ankle boot clinging onto his foot just below his small ankle. The movement was fluid, but mechanical. He was aware of the crowds' burning gaze, filled with admiration and envy, but his impassive expression didn't show this. Madame Red would've had his neck should she have seen the look, but thankfully the only illuminated part of his body was the expanse of his exposed legs dangling over the stage edge.

As the low thrill of the piano grew, he moved. The spotlight found its way onto him fully and the boy made sure to plaster his carefully constructed show face into place. The look was practiced, many hours wasted in staring at himself in a mirror until the very set of his lips were in the perfect pout. Ciel wouldn't say he was proud of it, but it worked for the show and that was all it needed to achieve.

Trailing the heel of his left boot over his right leg, he slowly crossed his leg over the other. Just as soon as the movement was completed the piano keys were struck in a staccato and right on cue, Ciel snapped forward his elbows resting on his knee and chin elegantly resting in his palm. A coy smile shot up his lips, not reaching the blue of his eye as he looked out over the shadowed audience.

"And they say I can't play nice," he purred, running the nail of his pinky finger along the curve of his bottom lip.

The lyrics of the song oozed underlying innuendoes that were only made all the more apparent by the sway of his delicate hips or sinful form of his lips as he laced his voice among the instruments. The pitch of it was neither too low to be considered masculine or too high to be considered feminine, but it achieved the desired effect nonetheless. Ciel held the entire club under a spell and they watched on with eager eyes as the male entertainer moved in ways that turned some females green with envy.

It was disgusting though, the way they drooled at the very sight of him. If he weren't so vigilant in watching his expression while on stage, Ciel would have given them a glare that could rival the devil's own. The club was innocent entertainment enough and for a few patrons it was just that, an evening to relax and enjoy the night, but for others it was something else. Those guests earned the teen's scorn, though he was careful not to display it on his face. His sapphire eye though remained hardened with disgust every time it found itself staring in the direction of the VIP seating. He didn't wish to be the object of those rich bastards' twisted fantasies. Though Ciel knew that not all of the customers renting those seats were like that, he still couldn't help but think of the handful who were.

Ciel dropped himself back into the waiting arms, releasing a soft sigh as the performance drew to the close and the lights dimmed into darkness. He could distinctly hear to sound of the applause from the tables a level below the bar- the performance having taken him across the club to the back. The cobalt haired teen brushed off the hands gripping his arms and pulled himself upright once the noise died down and another entertainer appeared on stage to take his place for the next performance.

"Tough performance, Ciel?"

A sapphire eye shot daggers at the man behind him. "Not more then usual, Claude."

The older male smirked, about the only expression that ever showed on his stony face. Ciel couldn't understand what Alois saw in a man like him, but then again when had he ever understood any of the blonde's reasoning. The bartender gave off vibes that kept the younger male well away from him and if Madame Red hadn't insisted on this number, his six month Claude free streak would have still remained unblemished.

The boy turned, running a hand through his sweat dampened locks as he headed through the back route to the backstage area. The route cut around the entire circumference of the club and was kept an employee only zone for obvious reasons. He was almost done for the night and then it was home to a nice bed for a small nap before classes. All of which he was looking forward to.

"Ciel! Ciel! Wait up!"

Pausing, he turned to look over his shoulder at the red faced Mey-Rin. The waitress was disheveled and out of breath, but the nervous gleam in her dark eyes was what put Ciel on alert. The woman never usually bothered him unless it was just before the club opened up or the staff was in need of someone to fill in. The thought caused the boy to swallow back a building sigh. Why had he ever informed Grell that he'd be willing to take any extra work offered if they needed him? He was beginning to regret that decision.

"What is it?"

Mey-Rin smiled sheepishly and twittered her thumbs together. "Well you see... Shirley, she... well she couldn't make it, so the staff is short for the next shift and... well Grell told me that you said you would be willing to fill in."

Ciel bit back his groan, silently weighing the pros and cons of agreeing. He'd be put behind schedule once more, but in the long run the pay off would be doubled, and of course he wouldn't have to deal with a frantic boss if he agreed to lend a hand. Bitting his bottom lip, he mauled over the decision carefully. The pros were seemingly out weighting the cons in the long run.

"Which tables are hers?"

Mey-Rin's face brightened. "You'll do it?"

"Of course. Now tell me which tables before I change my mind," he snapped.

The smile didn't falter. "The VIP section and thanks a heap, Ciel! This means so much!"

The boy could only grumble as the girl delivered him a crushing hug before disappearing in the other direction, leaving him no choice but to turn around and go back out to the bar area. The sapphire orb swept over the main section of seating before settle on the small stairwell that led up to the upper levels.

The VIP seating. It would be his luck that the server for that section would be missing this evening, not any other section, that one. Swallowing back the last of his visible disdain, the teen climbed the stairs and passed down the long stretch of hallway. On his left ebony doors were decorated with a single silver number and a small sign dangling from each knob. The color of the signs varied from either a bright peacock blue or a deep red. The boys eyes skipped over the doors marked off with the red signs, mentally taking note of the few that held the brilliant blue ones.

"Five," he sighed to himself. The number wasn't terrible, it could have been much worse. Out of the eighteen private rooms total, five wasn't shabby. At least it meant he wouldn't be slaving about for the remainder of the night.

He knocked his knuckles against the first door before stepping inside and slipping on a thin lipped smile for the group of guests. The room was lavishly designed with ebony walls and silver trim. Red velvet lounges were organized in a strategic arrangement to give the customers the perfect view of the stage through the glass wall at the front of the room. The room was designed for the rental of those who wished for private parties or for those who just had the extra money to splurge on privacy. For these reasons everything was soundproof, so that any noise inside the room couldn't leak out and annoy other customers; hidden speakers were provided so that they could enjoy the performances below fully.

"Oh! Weren't you the boy who was just performing?" Ciel's head swiveled around slowly to see the group of women lounging together towards the left side of the room. His sapphire eyes fell on the one who had spoken: an carmel haired young woman in her early twenties who looked to have drunken more than she probably should have. When she knew she had his attention, she offered him a flirty smile that was lost on the cobalt haired teen.

"Yes," he answered curtly, without being overly harsh.

The young woman giggled, "Aren't you a bit young to be working in a joint like this?"

One eyebrow twitched upwards in annoyance; that one struck a sore nerve. All his life, in the few times he had been complimented, that was the one thing he always heard: 'Oh he's so cute' or 'He looks just like a child'. Ciel was well aware that he was on the shorter side, only reaching the grand of height of 5'8 with six inch heels on, and that his soft features were girlish in nature, making him appear delicate and feminine. It didn't mean that he liked it or found it flattering when people pointed it out.

"I'm nineteen," he stated flatly.

"Oh, then your legal, aren't you?" She giggled shamelessly, one of the other females blushing at the suggestion.

"Sara, please stop. You're harassing the poor boy, let him do his job," the blushing female mumbled, resting a hand on the intoxicated young woman's arm. Ciel was silently thankful to her, but the flinch couldn't be help when his pride took a blow to being called a poor boy, as if he were nothing but a child.

The one named Sara turned and regarded her friend with glazed eyes before sighing, "Very well, but I'll only stop because it's your bachelorette party."

The blush on the other's cheeks darkened slightly, but she smiled before turning to regard Ciel. "Excuse her, she had a bit too much to drink."

"A bit," another snorted softly. "Try eight shots too much."

That explained a lot, Ciel thought humorously as he watched Sara tipsy about in drunken slurs directed at her group of friends.

"I don't mean to bother you," another broke in quietly. "But can we all get a picture with you?"

Ciel sighed softly, this hadn't been the first time he had been asked such a request and he seriously doubted that it was anywhere near the last. Forcing a smile onto his face he nodded and stepped towards the group as the girls brought out a camera from one of the purses lying on the coffee table in the middle of the room. He was fully prepared to just stand behind them for a photo, when he was yanked down roughly onto the couch and forced to pose amidst the six females.

The camera flashed, briefly blinding the nineteen year old before yet another camera was taken out. The groan building in Ciel's throat fought for release as picture after picture was taken among the giggling young woman. It seemed like an eternity had passed before they released him from their claws, when in actuality it had only been two minutes.

"Thank you," they all laughed, earning a weary smile from the boy.

"You're welcome," he stated awkwardly. "Is there anything else you want this evening?"

The six exchanged glances before shaking their heads. It was the bride-to-be that spoke up out of the group to verbalize their decision. "I think we've had enough fun for one evening," she smiled, her eyes sliding a pointed look at her drunken friend.

He nodded politely before slipping out of the room and moving onto the next. A much similar scene passed, with the exception of an assault of photography, and after retrieving the drinks ordered he moved on to the next. Things began to flow smoothly and Ciel settled into the pattern with ease, eye only darting to the clock whenever he approached the bar to see how much longer he had before he could dart out of here.

"Here's the drinks."

The busty barmaid winked playfully as she placed the sparkling tubes of alcohol onto a tray for Ciel to take. He murmured a small thanks to her, even going as far as to return her wink with a crooked smile as he allowed himself to enter into one of those moods where he liked to test the effects he had on people. The teen smirked in triumph when the young woman flushed slightly, the soft pink color heightened under the strobe lighting.

Ciel turned on his heels, dead set on hurrying to finish the last of the VIP rooms. Weaving his way effortlessly through the small crowd lingering in front of the bar, he paused at the base of the steps. A tingling sensation, not altogether uncomfortable, swept down his spine as the distinct feeling being watched settled onto him. Something similar to a cross between a pout and a frown settled onto his face, as he turned to sweep a quick glance around the room. No single person stood out until his eyes caught sight of flashing garnet.

Sapphire locked onto the brilliant red gems that met his gaze with a startling intensity. The red orbs belonged to a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He lounged carelessly against the bar's edge, the top few buttons of his white button down shirt left opened and bottom left untucked above the black suit pants that rested low on his hips. Ciel drank in the male's easygoing form, from the fashionably disarranged raven colored locks to the attractively pale skin stretching over a lean yet strong form.

The male smirked, as if he noticed Ciel appraising his appearance, causing the teen to blush a vivid red as blood shot to his cheeks and heated the skin there. Huffing rather loudly, the boy turned swiftly and marched up the steps to avoid any further embarrassment. If he remained he'd want another peek at the man and, for Ciel, that was unacceptable.

Forcing his head to remain off of the attractive gentleman and back on to his work, he quickly delivered the last of the drinks to the forth room and excused himself to move onto the last. He sighed upon turning the door knob, another half hour of bouncing from room to room and he'd be free. Regret filled him as he realized this also meant he wouldn't gain that much needed sleep between work and his first class of the day, but there wasn't much he could do about changing that now.

"M-," the words died on Ciel's tongue as he surveyed the room he just entered. A horde of female woman, dressed shamelessly in next to nothing, lounged among the couches and situated comfortably with them was a single blonde haired male. All eyes looked up to see the newcomer, all except one drifting away when they took him in.

"Oh, if it isn't the little Robin who put on such a lovely performance for us!"

Ciel couldn't prevent it. A grimace quickly plastered itself into place on his face as he fought the urge to fidget under the violet gaze directed at him. For the first time that evening he felt uncomfortable in the performance costume: the soft gray corset with tailcoats too revealing and the black leather shorts too erotic. Such thoughts didn't normally plague his mind while he worked among others dressed in a similar fashion, but before this person he suddenly felt sick. He recognized the blonde as Aleister Chamber, a regular attender though Ciel never came too close to him. There was always something lurching in the blonde's eyes that unsettled him deeply.

"Come join us, Robin," the man cooed from between two busty brunettes. "Your presence will be delightful companion."

Ciel quickly shook his head, "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

The excuse was flimsy, but Ciel clutched onto it like a lifeline. If Claude made him uneasy, then this man frightened him to death. The logical portion of his brain warned him against remaining much longer and his gut seconded that.

"Is there anything that I can get you?" Ciel asked fighting with himself to keep calm and collected.

Aleister frowned thoughtfully, before extracting himself from the grasp the women had on him and approached Ciel. The boy stiffened as the older male walked in a small circle around him, before coming to stop directly before the teen. A sugary sweet grin was playing on the other's lips, darker intentions lurking just behind it. Swallowing hard, Ciel took a step back and reached for the door handle.

"If you can't grace us with your presence-"

"Which I can't," Ciel but in, his eye narrowed dangerously.

Aleister sighed dramatically, "Then perhaps you can do something else to make up for it, my sweet Robin."

He lifted a finger and ran it along the curve of Ciel's draw, causing the teen to freeze. Sapphire followed the trail the finger took as it dipped down to follow the line of his exposed neck. When it reached the curve where his neck met his shoulders, the boy snapped out of his stupor. Ciel lashed out, slapping the hand away from him with narrowed eyes.

"Don't touch me," he hissed.

Before the other could stop him, Ciel hurriedly grabbed the door and swung it open. He didn't bother to shut it behind him nor did he bother to see what the other was doing. He hoped he was still gawking like a moron at the spot the teen had just been occupying. It would serve him right for acting in such a manner.

Ciel was barely halfway down the hall when his wrist was snatched up. Before he could blink, his body was thrown against the wall with a muffled thump. Wincing, he gasped as his eye flew up to meet violet.

"Let go of me," he demanded through clenched teeth.

"There's no need for that," the man chuckled, leaning closer so that his lips brushed against Ciel's ear. "You know you love this attention, especially with the way you made such a tempting exit, Robin."

Ciel growled, "Like I would want anything from filth like you."

Bracing himself, Ciel tried to push the other away from him but couldn't succeed in so much as moving the other an inch. In desperation he squirmed, struggling against the hold- doing anything to try and break free. He rose a hand to slap the other, when a hand wrapped around his wrists and brought them over his head; effectively pinning him even further to the wall and preventing him from doing more damage.

"Now none of that," Aleister tsked, a grin on his face.

"I'd like to ask you to politely release your hold on him."

Both males froze at the new voice. Smooth like velvet, it cut sharply into the otherwise silent hallway and caused both heads to turn and look at the origin of it. Ciel's breath caught in his throat when he recognized the newcomer as the man from before.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he stated dangerously, garnet eyes narrowed onto the blonde with an authoritative glare when the other didn't move at the first warning.

Aleister sighed, making every move dramatic, as he reluctantly stepped away. Free at last, Ciel didn't waste any time in stepping a good ten feet away from him. He glanced down at his wrists and winced at the sight of the red hand prints wrapping around the pale skin. Thankfully it was the worst physical wound, his pride had taken a much harder blow. Especially at the prospect of getting his ass saved by a stranger.

"Are you the club's security?" The blonde asked innocently.

The raven haired male's lips twitched upwards. "No, but I have my own ways of making sure people like you don't over step their bounds."

The male flipped open a small leather object, revealing a silver police badge for the other two to gap at. Ciel felt his eye widen at the sight of it, before he forced himself to look away with an arranged expression of disinterest on his face. He couldn't, however, keep from glancing periodically back at the interesting male.

"There's no need to get testy, officer," Aleister smiled, the polite yet flamboyant nature returning in full force.

The male smiled, the upwards pull of his lips threatening in nature. The expression was perhaps more chilling then if he had scowled at Aleister. It held a clear challenge that almost seemed to encourage the other male to try something.

"Then I ask that you refrain from causing trouble and never lay a finger on _anyone_ without their consent again." The threat was masked by another smile and it was clear that by anyone, he meant Ciel- much to the teen's annoyance.

Aleister shuffled nervously under the hard gaze of crimson eyes and Ciel couldn't prevent a smirk from pulling his lips upwards as he watched the other squirm. It took only moments before he shied back and made a retreat; leaving Ciel and the black haired male alone.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them and Ciel had the urge to shift from foot to foot in discomfort. He slid a glance at the man from the corner of his eye before deciding that he needed to get back to work before a customer complained to Grell or someone who would be equally annoying.

Without a word Ciel spun away and down the hall, determined to forget everything that had just happened. It would be better that way, he decided.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

The arrogant voice stopped the cobalt haired teen in his tracks. Slowly, Ciel turned to face the older male. The male wore a expectant smirk on his face that irked Ciel to no end. His eyebrows drew together in a pinch as he didn't bother to hide the scowl directed at the raven haired male.

"No."

The smirk didn't fall away much to Ciel's dismay, instead it seemed to grow a bit larger.

"Even though I just saved you from that customer?" He questioned smugly, causing Ciel's hand to twitch briefly with the urge to smack the look off his handsome face.

Ciel scowled, "I don't need help dealing with perverts like him. I can handle myself and I don't need people like you, ..."

"Sebastian."

Ciel narrowed his eyes at the man, showing that he neither cared nor wanted his name. "Like I said, _Sebastian_, I don't need your help or anyone else's."

With that said, Ciel turned and marched off with determination to burn everything that had just happened out of his mind. Starting with the memory of that damn smirk.

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><p><em><strong>AN:** Reviews are always nice :)_


	4. Ch 4 Bastard

_**A/N:**__ Wow so many reviews and they've all been so nice. Thank you *weeps tears of happiness*. This chapter hops around in PVs, but I think they're easy enough to understand who it's following- at least I hope. _

_**Warning:** Ciel curses quiet a few times in this chapter. But other then that, it's pretty clean... Enjoy._

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

"Fuck!" Ciel moaned loudly.

Practically slamming his feet into a pair of worn combat boots, the teen's sapphire eye never left the blaring blue numbers displayed on the clock above his stove. They seemed to mock him, blinking the numbers at him teasingly as they inched towards yet another minute. He was really regretting ever agreeing to helping Mey out earlier. Now his professor was going to kill him, if the prick even let him in the classroom in the first place.

Stuffing his pockets with his cell phone and keys, he quickly shoulder the leather messenger back and bolted for the front door. Bag slapping against his backside, he straight out sprinted for the elevator just as someone else was slipping in and, by some miracle, made it in before the metallic doors could slide shut in his face.

Ciel slumped back against the far way with a soft sigh. The elevator jolted to life beneath his feet, moving downwards and giving the teen no choice but to settle in for the long ride down. Trying to occupy the time, he slid a glance at the only other occupants in the elevator. A middle aged woman with mousy brown hair delivered him a venomous glare, before turning back to the loud conversation taking place over her cell phone. He just scoffed at her, used to such reactions from the other tenants of the building. The pompous asses were stuck in their own little world of perfect and any who didn't fit into it, wasn't worthy of living in their eyes. Cutting Ciel from the equation.

A flash of white drew Ciel attention to the small girl tucked behind her mother's legs. Big blue eyes peered out at him with no judgement, only childlike curiosity. Before he could catch himself, he flashed the small girl a crooked smile. To his surprise the girl giggled rather than shy away.

"Why do you cover that eye, mister?" She asked, pointing a finger up at the black patch covering his right eye.

Before Ciel could answer a gasp broke the peaceful atmosphere in the elevator.

"Rachel, what have I told you about talking to strangers? Especially people like him," the mother demanded, gripping her child's arm as she yanked the girl back behind her.

Wincing, Ciel turned his attention away from her and the burning glare behind leveled onto him. He had to bite his tongue to prevent the insults he wanted to launch at the woman, starting with the treatment of her child. She hadn't done anything wrong- other then ask him an innocent question, but apparently that was enough for the woman. With that turn of his thoughts, Ciel lifted a hand to his patch and brushed his fingers across the velvet material. The memories it invoked were enough to cause his throat to clench up, though he refused to show such emotions any further then that.

It was a relief when the elevator doors finally slide open and before they were even fully out of sight, Ciel was out and sprinting across the lobby. His eye sought the silver clock standing proudly over the front desk, the numbers proving to be even more daunting.

Time was running out.

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><p>"Ah! Mr. Michaelis!"<p>

Sebastian turned upon hearing his name and offered a polite smile to the young woman manning the front desk. She was a pretty platinum blonde, with curves in all the right places and bright blue eyes. Even so Sebastian couldn't help comparing those eyes to an even brighter one he'd seen up close only a few hours before. Unlike these ones, that eye had been alluring like a priceless gem and just as equally elusive.

Shaking his head, he forced his mind into the current moment.

"Good morning," the investigator responded politely as he approached the desk.

"Now it is," she giggled, flushing like a little school girl as she leaned against the desk. "You were late coming in this morning, care to tell where you've been?"

Sebastian shrugged, easily ignoring the young woman's advances. His mind wonder briefly back to the club and that proud face of a specific young entertainer. Unwillingly a small chuckle escape his mouth at the memory of the boy stubbornly refusing to thank him. Though he knew he should have found it an annoying display of ill mannerisms, he couldn't help but become more intrigued by the boy entertainer. Something about that prideful set of his lips and the arrogant tilt of his chin enthralled the investigator. Ciel- Sebastian remembered that was his name- was like a mystery just waiting to be solved and the investigator wanted nothing more than to piece all the clues together until he was able to figure out just what created such a unique being.

And Sebastian was never the person to give up on things halfway.

"Work," he lied easily.

The woman looked away dejected, but turned back with a smile. "Is it an interesting case? One worthy of the Demon Detective perhaps?"

Sebastian smirked at the familiar nickname he'd earned himself. It was rare that someone so young was able to secure a position as one of the lead investigators in the city. Let alone one that had yet to fail at solving a single case. The nickname stemmed from his ruthlessness in searching out the city's most wanted criminals, who committed crimes that were nearly dubbed cold cases by the main police force. That, combined with his flawless record and almost questionable ways of corner the culprits, had led people to call him a demon. Humorously enough, the first person that have called him that was one of the culprits he'd played a particularly fun game with. Obviously the man had lost and Sebastian had come out as victor with a new title. The Demon Detective or the Devil.

A series of gasp interrupted their conversation and Sebastian's eyes followed the figure of a boy running across the lobby. Baggy jeans hung dangerously low on the youth's waist, knees torn up, and the bottoms falling over black combat boots. A form fitted black tee hugged his heaving chest as he raced past the shocked investigator and disgruntled lobbyist. As Sebastian's eyes followed him until he disappeared out the revolving doors, he tried to place where he'd seen the boy before. His face seemed familiar, yet not at the same time. He frowned thoughtfully and quickly ran over all the faces he knew.

But he kept coming up blank.

The young woman behind the desk gave a disgruntled scoff, drawing the raven haired male's attention away from the door and to her as she turned her own attention to the computer sitting behind the desk. Her once pretty face was pinched together as if she'd just smelled something foul.

"Always coming and going at such ungodly hours," she muttered crossly.

Sebastian's frown deepened. "Who was he?"

Her eyes flitted upwards to Sebastian's face. "No one you need to worry about, Mr. Michaelis. He's just a rather troubled teen, who is only here because of his father."

Two black eyebrows rose ever so slightly up the male's forehead at the young woman's tone. She said it as if the mere presence of the boy was disgusting. Though Sebastian had to admit that the boy looked a bit too rough to fit in a place like this, he didn't completely understand the disdain laying in the blonde's voice.

"Who is his father?"

"Was," the woman sighed, looking up at him with a coy smile. "You aren't going to give up until I tell you, are you?"

He shook his head with a smug smirk pulling his lips up at the corners. "Not a chance."

She laughed and then smiled, all too willing to spill a bit of gossip.

"That was Vincent Phantomhive's bastard son. His mother, Rachel, was a model for some big industry who Vincent had an affair with. It went public when she got pregnant- created this huge scandal because Vincent was already married to Angela Phantomhive at the time. Rachel died shortly after giving birth to Vincent's son, internal bleeding or something was the official story. Anyway, a few years ago Vincent was murdered by some criminal he brought to justice. His son, Ciel Phantomhive, was left more than half of his fortune and an apartment here, supposedly the one he used when he met with Rachel. The terrible thing is that he lived here with his wife only three floors above it."

Crimson eyes widened as it hit him.

Ciel.

That boy was the entertainer from the club.

His shock slowly faded into a smirk as he nearly chuckled to himself at the irony. Who would have thought that the boy lived in the same building he did? Certainly not the investigator. It was almost too much to be a coincidence. Fate certainly had a funny way of spinning situations.

Not to mention the link to Ciel's father. Sebastian had to shake his head in humor at that. Vincent Phantomhive, the Guard Dog, Sebastian's mentor when he first joined the investigation team. The man had taken him in under his wings when Sebastian was only seventeen and taught him the ropes. He was part of the reason why Sebastian was where he was now.

Without really thinking about what he was asking, the investigator turned to look at the girl and flashed a crooked smile.

"Do you know where he was heading to in such a hurry?"

The female sputtered, eyes wide. "Probably to the university downtown. Why?"

She never got her answer.

Instead all she saw was the flash of black as the investigator disappeared out the revolving doors, his black trench coat protecting him from the fall chill.

* * *

><p>Ciel swore as he swerved to the side to avoid yet another pedestrian in his haste. He hadn't slowed down since the sprint from the elevator and it was begin to take it's toll on his body. His chest was constricting itself as his breath became shorter and shallower. The attack was imminent at this point and the bitting cold wasn't helping the burning much. Yet he wasn't planning on stopping. He'd run himself into the ground if it meant having a decent excuse for missing class.<p>

People sent him odd looks as they ducked out of his way, some even going as far as to spew curses at him as he darted by. He didn't care. Didn't focus on it. Instead he paid attention to where he was going and the gentle wheezing that was beginning to make itself known in each breath he took. Ciel was beginning to honestly worry about it. The last attack he had was back when he was thirteen, but since then he had worked on increasing his stamina to the point where attacks weren't a problem unless he really pushed the limits. Apparently a thirty block sprint counted under pushing the limits.

At first the sleek black car didn't catch his attention, it was just another car passing by. It wasn't until it slowed down to where it kept pace with him that Ciel became suspicious of it. The window rolled down and, unable to resist, Ciel glanced through it to see a familiar face.

He nearly groaned.

"Looks like you're in a hurry to get somewhere," Sebastian teased.

Ciel halted to sneer at the raven haired man. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

Sebastian smirked, "No, you told me that you can fend for yourself."

Ciel growled, "Then I'm tell you this now: piss off."

"Such foul language," Sebastian snickered. "And you say this to the person who only wants to lend a hand?"

Ciel scoffed, "I can take care of myself."

Sebastian sighed. "Look, Ciel, I only want to help you and right now it looks like you could use a lift."

"I'm fine," Ciel insisted, before he was cut off by a series of hacking coughs.

"You don't look like it," Sebastian muttered, lifting a skeptical eyebrow at the boy.

Ciel ground his teeth together and silently weighted the pros and cons. Within seconds, he gave in and approached the passenger side door.

"Unlock the damn door," he grumbled.

Sebastian smirked triumphantly and flipped the switch so the teen could open the door and slide into the passenger seat besides him. Ciel paid the investigator no mind as he situated himself in the seat and set his bag on the ground by his feet. Once he was sure the other was settled, Sebastian pulled away from the curb and joined the traffic.

"Did you stalk me or something?" Ciel broke the silence after a short moment, glaring straight ahead.

Sebastian chuckled and shook his head. "No. You happen to live in the same apartment building as me. By the way you made quite an exit this morning."

Ciel flinched.

"To be honest, I didn't recognize you without all the makeup or the revealing costume," Sebastian stated seriously.

Ciel glowered darkly out the window, before muttering something like pervert under his breath, much to Sebastian's amusement.

The university came into view and without having to be told so, Sebastian pulled up besides the curb and unlocked the door for Ciel. The teen rose an eyebrow at him, giving a pointed look at the building before them.

"The lobbyist told me," Sebastian explained simply.

Ciel scowled, but nodded. His sapphire eye flitted to the clock in the dash before widening slightly. He had gone from being behind schedule to having a good five minutes to get to class. Either traffic was light or Sebastian just drove fast, but whatever the cause was he no longer had to fear his professor's wrath.

"You can thank me later," Sebastian smirked.

Ciel's scowl deepened as he paused midway out of the car. Stepping out fully, he slammed the door in the other male's face and turned to sneer at him.

"I only accepted because I was running late."

"Keep telling yourself that," Sebastian joked, the smirk remaining unaffected by the teen's foul mood.

Ciel flipped his off before sauntering off to class.

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><p><strong>AN: **_**Spoiler for next chappy: **__Plot introduction (YEAHHHHH!) You'll just have to wait in suspense until Christmas- cause yes that is your present from moi. *HintHint* it's one of the reasons this has been placed under mystery._


	5. Ch 5 Demon Detective

_**A/N:**_ _Happy Holidays! Here's my gift to you: another chapter of Cabaret Boy! It's just on time too, exactly twelve o'clock where I am. _

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

Sebastian watched that small pair of hips, likely unconsciously, sway lightly to each side as Ciel walked off with that maddening trot of his. If only the boy knew just how temping he was in everything he did. A light chuckle escaped the raven haired male's lips at the memory of Ciel's expression when he teased him. The small curl of his lips as he scowled, the way his delicate eyebrows crinkled in anger, the way his revealed eye sparkled in open malice. Ciel was certainly a beautiful creature, even when he was furious.

Shaking his head, Sebastian pulled his gaze away from the disappearing male and pulled out into the traffic. As much as he'd like to remain just a little longer to watch the other, he had somewhere he had to be as well. All the current cases were completed and logged, but that didn't mean work would be lax for him enough to waste time thinking of a certain entertainer.

If he thought about it, everything was almost too calm in the city recently. It had Sebastian on edge. Nothing remained too peaceful for too long, that was something he learned very early in his career as a investigator. Currently the almost tranquil feeling of the city was like the calm before a storm, and if his past was anything to go by, it would certainly be some storm that was lurking on the horizon.

He tapped the fingers of his right hand against the wheel thoughtfully as he frowned to himself. Something wasn't right and it would only be a matter of time before it made its appearance.

The light ahead turned green and Sebastian eased his foot down against the gas pedal, the slight pressure enough to shoot the car forward. He was just approaching the next intersection, when a vibration in his front pocket caught his attention. The light flashed red and he used the chance to reach for his phone.

A quick glance at the caller ID was the first warning.

"What is it, Bard?" Sebastian answered, skipping introductions and just getting to the point.

"Boss, I 'ave a feelin' you need to come see this."

The second.

Sebastian scowled to himself, his hand gripping the wheel tightly as a dreadful gut feeling set in.

"Where are you."

It was a demand, not a question.

"The hotel off the corner of twenty-first street and fifteenth street," Bard answer curtly, his voice slightly strained over the phone.

Sebastian committed the directions to memory and automatically turned down the next street, heading in the direction his employee had said.

"What room number?" He demanded.

"Two eighty-three."

Sebastian sighed, "I'll be there in a minute."

He snapped the phone shut and looked up at the approaching scene. Even if he hadn't known the city streets it wouldn't have taken much for him to have figured it out. Six city police cruisers blocked off the street side and at least a dozen of the navy clad men were bustling about in an attempt to keep the onlookers at bay as they tried to clean up whatever scene lay behind the crime tape. The cruisers' lights were flashing red and blue, occasionally reflecting off the white paint of the long ambulance parked in the center of the chaos. As far as the investigator could tell there was no one, or no body, laid inside yet.

Seeing as trying to drive into the scene would be useless, Sebastian pulled off into a side parking spot and slipped out. The people in the crowd didn't notice him as he cut through them at a brisk walk, but they allowed themselves to be moved aside so that he could move through their densely packed bodies. The male ducked under the tape, catching the attention of a cop lingering near the pressing crowd.

"No civilians beyond this point, sir," he stated, grabbing ahold of Sebastian's upper arm in a firm grip. "I'm going to have to ask you to move back behind the line."

Sebastian paused to deliver the male an irritated glared. He was younger, most likely a rookie fresh out of the academy or from traffic patrol, which explained why he didn't recognize the investigator's face. All those who worked in the crime department for at least one case, knew Sebastian's reputation and knew well enough not to bother him when he was on the job.

"Excuse me, but-," Sebastian began.

"Knox," a stern voice cut Sebastian off, turning the attention of both males onto a dark haired male with a face that matched his orderly voice. "Let him through."

The blonde haired cop frowned, but released his grip on Sebastian's arm and stepped away as Sebastian straightened out his coat. As soon as he was finished, crimson locked onto emerald as a small smirk played on the investigator's lips.

"It's a pleasure to see you as always, Spears," he stated formally, but there was an underlying contradiction of amusement in his smooth tone- enough to cause the mentioned male to flinch.

"Michaelis," was the simple retort, disgust filling his tone.

As the two stared each other down, Ronald glanced back and forth between them. His green eyes filled with confusion as he tried to understand the tension practically radiating between the other two men.

"Chief?" He finally spoke up. "Who's he?"

"I didn't think that this would be a case they'd call you in," William spat, ignoring Ronald. "The precinct can handle this case just fine."

Sebastian shrugged, unaffected by the other man's attitude. He was used to William and his dislike for his team, moreover himself. The chief of police respected his work, at least as far as approving of the fact that the investigator was good at what he did, but he did not like the fact that the raven haired man got all the credit in the end and showed the police force up. It was a constant battle between them, remaining on the only slight line of civility because it was must and not a request. While Sebastian could care less about what the higher ups had to say, William on the other hand was a stickler for the rules, which meant that dealing with Sebastian's presences was a part of his job.

"Have you seen the scene yet?"

The chief of police frowned and shook his head. "No."

Sebastian grinned and moved past him with a teasing pat on the back. "Then I guess I should decided whether this is a case I want to bother with."

William frowned and followed after Sebastian, waving for the rookie officer to come as well. The investigator's grinned as he caught the two cops flanking him into the building. While he had been hoping to cut some of the investigation short by gathering information from the other authorities, he did not mind the fact that he was just offered the chance to show up the main police force with a bit investigating of his own.

The hotel was one of the lower end ones, if the direct location in the center of the slums hadn't been a hint to that. It was one of the more famous whore houses in the city that many prostitutes worked out of. The lobby was disorderly and run down, wallpaper peeling off the walls in the corners and the desk beat with various wear from the tenants. Sebastian noted, with much distaste, that the place had been styled during the fifties. Though the walls were worn, in patches he could still see the bright florescent yellow color and the trimmings, though scoffed, were still made of a gaudy aluminum.

A few stray cops in the lobby nodded towards Sebastian, who politely smiled back as he pressed the button to call for the elevator. It was a short ride up to the third level and from there he followed the direct line of noise to the scene.

The room door was left wide open for the officers and investigators to move in and out of with ease. Sebastian paused there to examining the brass knob and dark wood before moving on. His scarlet eyes caught sight of one odd fact that he made mental note of before moving further into the scene.

"Ah, boss!" Bard called, standing up from photographing the body.

Sebastian nodded to him and walked over. "What do you have so far?"

Looking sheepish, Bard rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothin' much, actually. She's a Jane Doe, 'round 'er mid-twenties. Caucasian, shoulder length brunette with brown eyes, and 5'2."

Sebastian sighed as he moved to the bed where the said victim was carefully placed. "There was no forced entry."

"What'd ya, say, boss?" Bard blinked.

Sebastian didn't looked away from examining the oddity of the murdered woman, the gears in his head already turning as he scowled down at the scene. The victim's face was caked with makeup, but other than the excessive amount of eyeshadow her face looked serene and calm. She was laid out on her back with her hands placed over her stomach. Curled in between her fingers was a vivid red rose that appeared to be fresh. Most disturbing of all was the fact that she was adorned in a short white dress that was as perfectly spotless as something bought new from a store. Also puzzling, was the fact that the material looked to be an expensive silk, something a regular whore wouldn't have had the cash to pay for.

"Neither the door nor the knob show any signs of tampering," he explained, well aware that all the attention in the room was now on him. "The culprit must have known the victim or been in the room prior to her arrival."

The raven haired investigator snapped on a pair of gloves before tilting the victim's head to each side to examine her neck for any bruising that might have escaped sight thanks to her position. With a sigh he stepped back once more.

"I suspect that the first of the two was the case. Her position and expression show no signs of distress or a struggle, meaning she had to have known him or at least had known he was with her. There is also no sign of any wound or struggle, so she was doubtfully straggled or harmed through any external force."

William stepped forward so that he could peer around Sebastian at the body. His own stern face pinched into a small frown as he carefully examined the body for everything that Sebastian had pointed out already. When it was obvious that everything the investigator had previously stated was true, he backed up with a heavy sigh.

"I suppose this means you'll be wanting to look further into this," he grumbled, pushing his square rimmed glasses further up his nose.

Sebastian hid his smirk. "This might be a challenge. In which case, how could I refuse?"

William leveled the other a glare.

"Hey! Boss, doesn't this remind you of that bulletin you recieved going back a few days ago?" Ronald interrupted, as he pulled himself away from the body to look over at his boss and the investigator.

William frowned, but slowly nodded, causing Sebastian to arch an eyebrow. It was a silent request to hear more, one that the chief of police just barely agreed to.

"Apparently there has been the string of murders in the outer regions going back a few months ago. They ended abruptly and no one was ever able to solve the cases. The MO's all fit together though. All young men and women around the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine with distinctively soft, feminine features. All were discovered in various hotels wearing short white dresses with a single rose tucked into their hands. All showed no signs of having been physically harmed or abuse. In the end their deaths remain a mystery."

Sebastian frowned thoughtfully, before sighing and waving to Bard to approach him. The rough looking male sauntered over, scoffing at the sight of the police chief as he settled his cigarette on the edge of his lip. Tearing his gaze away from William, he looked to Sebastian.

"What is it, boss?"

"I want you to get the rest of the team and have them photograph every inch of this scene. Gather anything suspicious and bag it," Sebastian ordered. "Also, make sure you get the medical team to bring this down to the examiner so that he can tell us the cause of death."

Bard nodded, "Anything else, boss?'

Without looking at him, Sebastian reached out and grabbed the cigarette from the other male's mouth. Yanking it out of the other's grasp, he snuffed it out and tossed it into a nearby ash tray.

"And Bard, refrain from smoking on a crime scene," Sebastian growled.

"Yes, boss."

* * *

><p>"Now my pretties, I want us to go over that last number one more time."<p>

Ciel allowed his head to fall back against the top edge of the couch as Madame Red made the last act repeat their number for the third time. If there were any days he hated more than others, it was rehearsal days. They consisted nothing more than going over every dance number they would be performing for the entire following week until they were perfect and often that took hours to complete. Ciel was just considering himself lucky that he wasn't the one being called up at the moment.

"Ciel! Ciel! Did you hear the news?" Alois cried. The blonde threw himself enthusiastically across the other boy's lap, before rolling over so that he could blink his ocean blue eyes up at the other.

Ciel leveled the blonde boy a glare as he roughly shoved him away from himself. "No, I've been here all day, unlike some people," he snapped.

Alois smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that. How about I make it up to you?"

Ciel rolled his eye at the other. "I doubt you could or would."

"Fine, I'll just savor that napoleon all by myself now," he teased, flourishing his jab with a lick to his pink lips.

Ciel perked up at the mentioning of the pastry, much to the blonde's amusement; who upon seeing Ciel's face burst into giggles. Scowling, Ciel shoved Alois off the couch where the boy fell onto the floor with a large thud.

"Ow, that really hurt, Ciel," he grumbled.

Ciel smirked and crossed one leg over the other elegantly. "That's what you deserve for mocking me."

"Fine," Alois sighed and stood up, dusting himself off. "I'll leave then."

With a dramatic huff, Alois whirled around on his heels and began to saunter off with a showy wiggle of his hips, all meant to be directed at the cobalt haired teen. Ciel rolled his eye at the display and remained facing forward as he reached for the plastic cup of water in front of him. Lifting it to his lips, he downed the contents in one gulp.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me, Alois?" Ciel asked with a small closed eye smirk.

The other boy turned and grinned. "Oh yeah!"

Ciel sighed, "Then aren't you going to tell me?"

Bouncing with excitement the blonde took a seat next to Ciel once more and gave him an eerie grin. "Did you hear the news?"

"No," Ciel deadpanned.

Alois deflated slightly, but still charged on. "The police found a body."

Ciel could not have looked any less interested at the news. He scoffed slightly and tilted the cup around in his hand, watching the small droplets inside spin about. His eye didn't leave the sight as he answered the blonde.

"And this is something new?"

Alois frowned, "You're no fun, Ciel."

"Well tell me something interesting instead of wasting my time," Ciel retorted. "The police find bodies everyday. This is a city after all, Alois."

"You didn't let me finish," Alois shot back with a grin, before leaning in so that his mouth was only inches away from Ciel's ear. "The body had no physical signs of harm and they say that it is connected with a recent string of murders."

Ciel's eyebrows arched upwards. "A serial killer?"

Alois nodded eagerly, "They don't have any leads though. It looks to be a cold case."

"Hmm," Ciel mumbled in a dry tone.

Alois bumped his shoulder and smiled. "But they say the Demon Detective is on the case. It's been a while since he has investigated one publicly, though his work is all over the place. I've heard that he is a very sexy."

Alois licked his lips suggestively and Ciel grimaced. He thought he would have been used to the other's antics by now, but alas it seemed that Alois never ceased to surprise and annoy Ciel.

"You've heard?" He questioned.

Alois shrugged, "I haven't actually seen the guy."

"Then you shouldn't listen to rumors," Ciel countered. "They're mainly just exaggerated truths spread by a bored populous."

Alois glowered, "Way to kill my dreams, Ciel."

Ciel smirked back, "You're welcome."

Pouting, Alois backed off an inch and crossed his arms childishly across his chest. "Well even if he isn't hot, his job makes up for it. Wouldn't you agree, Ciel? After all you were the one who wouldn't shut up about him for two years straight."

Ciel blushed slightly, but quickly masked the brief display of embarrassment by turning his face to the side and scowling at the nearby wall. Everything Alois had said was true, Ciel had been and still was completely taken with the famed Demon Detective- though he had never seen anything more than a glimpse of the man's face, because that was about all the press could ever seem to manage. Something about his amazing abilities and the mystery surrounding who he was exactly sparked the entertainer's interest. Not many people knew anything more than the facts that he was incredibly young and that his name was Sebastian Michaelis.

Ciel frowned suddenly. Sebastian was the name of that damned infuriating man from last night and that morning. Ciel visibly glowered at the mere thought of that irking smirk and those amused scarlet eyes.

He shook his head to himself, there was no way both men were the same. It would have been too much of a coincidence. Besides there was no way some cocky bastard like Sebastian was _the_ Sebastian Michaelis.

There was just no way.

"Phantomhive! You're up next!"

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><p><em><strong>AN:** Love you all, so until next time~_


	6. Ch 6 Coincidence

_**A/N:**__ I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm actually rather surprised I got it done today since classes kept me busy, though that doesn't matter because it's here._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Kuroshitsuji, nor do I make any profit off this or any of my other fan fictions. This is purely the work of a fan._

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

"You should go home for the night, Ciel."

Said cobalt haired teen glanced up at the red head leaning in the doorway to the dressing room backstage with his hands on his hips. The boy was still clad in a scanty stage costume with thick coal liner accenting his large sapphire eye. Glitter from the nude eyeshadow adorning his eyelids had somehow managed to fall onto everything, making his skin sparkle in the bare lighting offered by the series of vanities situated in the center of the room. Contradicting to his ostentatious stage makeup, his expression was sober as he eyed the flamboyant figure- from the red trench to the vibrant crimson locks that spilled nearly to the floor.

The man was certainly vibrant for lack of a better term. When Ciel had first met his soon-to-be boss at his interview, the teen hadn't known what to think of the man. Grell, much like Madame Red, a large lover of red- one of the main reasons the club was called Écarlate, the french word for scarlet. His eccentric taste in pretty much everything was confusing and a bit off putting at first, but Ciel had learned to deal with must of it on at least some level. There were still the times where he was throw off by the older man and sometimes even annoyed, those times especially occurred whenever a handsome looking man entered the club. It surprised Ciel that Grell hadn't seen Sebastian yet, the other man was the incarnation of the type Grell would often swoon over at first sight. Since he hadn't heard anything as of yet he assumed this meant Grell hadn't met the man.

"Are you sure you don't need me for anything, Grell?" As much as it pained the boy to ask, he felt obliged to. The lack of sleep was beginning to make itself apparent in his worn face and dragging limbs, even his reaction rates was slowed down. Though extra money would be beneficial at the moment, even if it cost him another night's sleep.

Grell scowled and strutted across the room on his heeled boots. Before Ciel had time to blink, two hands had clasped his chin in their grasp and angled it upwards gently. Two vivid green eyes flitted across his features, taking in every curve and blemish there was- the only noticeable one being the two dark circles barely concealed under makeup. His lips further pulling into a scowl, the man dropped Ciel's chin.

"I can't have one of my boys overworking themselves," he sighed dramatically. "That would effect the flow of customers and then where would all the handsome young men go!"

Ciel resisted the urge to roll his eye.

Turning Grell poked the younger's nose with a carefully manicured finger nail. "I can't have that now! Especially with such a cute face."

He pinched Ciel's cheek, much to the boy's chagrin. Once the other male turned his back to the boy, Ciel rubbed his aching skin. If that hadn't left a mark then he didn't know what would. He winced slightly as he prodded it with a finger.

"Oh, how the men swarm at the sight of it! I have not seen so many handsome faces in one place before," he cried, hugging himself as his dramatics took a swift increase in tempo.

Ciel grimaced, "I'm glad someone enjoys the crowd."

Grell pressed his index finger to the corner of his mouth and winked. "You'll understand the pinnings of love and lust in a few years. And when you do, you'll come back here to thank me for all the advice I've given!"

A shiver found it's way down Ciel's spine and he bristled at the suggestion behind Grell's words. Being nineteen Ciel knew very well of pleasures and things like that- what teenager these days didn't?- but he never found it appealing. He simply didn't care to find love, the very notion of which he found silly and childish. The people that wasted their time chasing after it were throwing their lives away in his eyes. For Ciel there were some many more important things that one could be doing. Love only lead to hurt because people lie, cheat, and don't stand to their commitments. It's human nature.

The grimace never leaving his face, Ciel slipped on a pair of dark wash jeans and a loose fitted tee while Grell was kept busy ranting with his back to the nineteen year old. Said teen quickly shrugged on his leather jacket and vanished out the back door before his red headed boss could notice he was even gone. He'd deal with the repercussions later.

Ciel released a pent up sigh as he followed the familiar trek homeward. Love, he scoffed inwardly. It was just a bottle of pain deceptively disguised as something that is beautiful and fulfilling. He knew better and Ciel promised himself that he'd never allow himself to fall into the trap known as love. He didn't want to repeat the mistakes made by those before him.

He didn't want to live that sort of pain.

His combat boots squeaked lightly against the marble flooring as he crossed the lobby to the elevators. Behind him, he could feel the glare of the lobbyist but shrugged the feeling off like every other day. It was all routine by now.

Harshly pressing his finger into the call button he tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the doors to slide open. Minutes seemed to elapse before the doors slide aside and Ciel pushed through and pressed the glowing button with his floor number printed in large black text. Leaning back against the far railing, he waited for the elevator to do its job.

The doors began to slide closed with a small groan of protest. From the other side Ciel could hear someone swear as the distinct sound of running footsteps approached the quickly closing doors. Ciel scoffed, they'd just have to catch the next one.

A sapphire eye widened as a pale hand came between the two doors catching them just before they touched; holding it at bay at the last possible second available. A sigh of relief was heard before the doors were pried open. Lucky bastard, Ciel wanted to mutter but stopped midway when his eye landed on the figure entering the elevator.

His luck just couldn't get any worse, could it?

Sebastian didn't even look over at him as he stepped inside and took one quick look at the highlighted floor before stepping back. Curiously Ciel peered at the floor destinations, only to surmise that only one button remained lit. Once more his gaze flickered to the other male who had taken residence in the opposite corner of the elevator without having taken notice to the younger male yet. As much trouble as he had caused Ciel these past few days, the teen would have believed he'd want to make use of this opportune moment, but it seemed that his mind was elsewhere.

Silence ensued as the elevator lurched upwards. Ciel shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, his eye flickering from the passing floor numbers to the raven haired man. He bit his lip, glancing once more at the number and dismayed to see it lingering just under twelve. Ciel looked back at Sebastian, then at the floor number, the man once more, the number, the man, the number, and finally he cracked.

"What no teasing about fate?" Ciel snapped, surprised by the sharp tone of annoyance in his own voice.

Sebastian looked up, seemingly taking in Ciel for the first time. His garnet eyes looked glazed over with a troubled look that wasn't missed by the boy. The infuriating smirk was missing from his handsome face as well as the maddening playful expression. He seemed sober and a bit disturbed by something. Nothing about the expression was what Ciel had come to expect from the man and for some reason it left him feeling uneasy, though he didn't understand why. Sebastian really had nothing to do with him after all.

"I have some things wearing on my mind," Sebastian stated distantly.

Ciel scowled at the vague answer. If the man thought he was going to get away with such an easy answer he was sadly mistaken. The entertainer wasn't about to let him slide after the hell of an annoyance he'd been put through dealing with the other male's earlier antics. He thought of this as some sort of payback.

"Like what?" he demanded.

"Work," was the simple answer.

Ciel's scowl softened into a frown. A brief flashback of their first meeting played in his mind, specifically the clip of Sebastian putting the police badge of display for himself and Aleister to see. He had to admit, he hadn't really looked too closely at the badge when it had first been flashed and now he was curious. What department did Sebastian work in? Was it a case that currently had him so distracted?

"You said you were with the police," Ciel mused. "What is your job with them?"

Sebastian glanced over at him, surprising showing past his pervious troubled expression. Slowly he nodded, "I currently am employed as an investigator."

Briefly a flicker of a doubt crossed his mind about his earlier assumption of Sebastian not being _the_ Sebastian Michaelis, the Demon Detective. He quickly pushed it aside, scoffing at the idea mentally. Just because both men happened to be named Sebastian and worked in the same line of work didn't mean a thing. There were plenty of men with that name, it wasn't uncommon.

But he still felt the odds were too close to be a coincidence.

"Are you currently on a case?" He pressed, ignoring his gut feeling.

"Yes," Sebastian smirked. "I'm currently looking into a case that might involve investigating you, though I'm not privileged to divulge that information as of yet."

The teasing came out forced and Ciel noted the way Sebastian's classic smirk didn't quite make it up to the man's gleaming eyes. Something was obviously bothering him, though Ciel couldn't be sure what it was. Perhaps it was his attitude earlier, maybe he had succeeded in chasing the older male away? Ciel couldn't explain why, but his stomach knotted at the thought and he scolded himself for feeling a sense of guilt wash over him. Why was he feeling remorse for something he had wanted?

The speakers hidden somewhere in the elevator let out a small metallic ring just before the doors glided to the sides. The hallway beyond was empty, but being as late as it was this wasn't surprising. It had to be well after one in the morning by now and most of the high society business socialites would be sleeping if they were even home. He didn't bother with wondering why Sebastian was late, something about the male told him that this wasn't abnormal.

Without thinking fully about his actions, just focusing on the thought of getting out and to his apartment, Ciel moved forward with the intention of doing just that. Mid-step his foot caught on something jutting off the floor and he was sent tumbling forward. A loud thud followed shortly after his body make impact with the floor and then a gentle fluttering of papers falling all around him and the hallway.

"Shit," he swore, scrambling to get up. "Sorry, I'm wasn't paying attention."

Ciel rushed to grab the papers laying spread out across the carpeted floor, only halfway aware of Sebastian working to pick them up besides him. The bag he had tripped over lay open and gapping on the floor, completely empty of all the manila folders that were lying amiss the mass of white papers. Looking over the scrambled mess, he blushed slightly. No doubt the other would be at it forever tonight to be able to get everything in order once more.

Sebastian grunted softly. "It's alright. There wasn't much organization to it in the first place."

Ciel bowed his head as his fingers tried to organize the papers he had gathered into a neat stack before handing them over to Sebastian. He silently hoped that the older man was being honest with him and not just trying to make him feel less guilty.

"Here," Ciel stated quietly, holding out another large stack.

Sebastian took it carefully and placed it inside a manila folder before placing it back into the leather bag. Slowly the hallway floor was becoming more and more visible as they gathered the last of the papers up. Handing the last stack over, Ciel offered a small smile to Sebastian trying to convey how sorry he was with just the look alone.

"Is that everything?"

Sebastian stood up and looked over everything in his hands and bag as Ciel continued to look at him expectantly. The older male sighed and began to give a small nod, when he stopped eyes falling on something beyond the boy's shoulder. Ciel frowned and turned to see what it was. A little further down the hall were a few more scattered papers. The entertainer released a sigh at the sight and turned to jog down the hall to retrieve them.

"Don't worry, I've got them."

Ciel leaned down to collect them, feeling the slippery sheets glide over his fingers. At first he didn't pay attention to the cool feeling that was different compared to the texture of the other ones he'd already collected.

"Damn, these things fly far," he grumbled as he reached for one that had somehow managed to wedge itself underneath an apartment door.

He gently coaxed the paper out from under the door without crumpling or tearing it. He sighed in relief and moved to place it on the top of the stack he held. A flash of color catching in the florescent lighting caused Ciel to pause and peer down at the sheet in his hands.

"Do you have them all, Ciel?"

Sebastian's footsteps came to a halt besides Ciel, but the cobalt haired teen didn't move a muscle. His single blue eyes remained wide as he continued to stare down at the photo in his hands. The image was enlarged to fit on the eight by eleven sheet of photo paper, which explained why they had been smoother to the touch than the regular sheets he'd helped gather earlier. The picture itself wasn't necessarily gruesome, but somehow the peaceful image of the young woman was oddly disturbing. It was obvious she wasn't just sleeping or there would be no need for the investigator to have it.

She was dead.

And somehow that made it all the worse.

"Ciel?" Sebastian repeated, only to not receive a response.

The boy's hand trembled slightly, the papers rattling against one another with the slight movement. He was vaguely aware of the older man's hand coming to rest on his shoulder, but he couldn't bring himself to care, much less shake it off.

He could only stare.

"Ciel," Sebastian repeated louder this time.

A slow blink.

"Ciel!"

Another blink.

"CIEL!"

The boy was startled when he was violently shaken out of his stupor. Blinking his blue eye, he glanced up at the concerned scarlet eyes that were carefully sweeping over his face. Ciel didn't need a mirror to know what Sebastian would see. A face drained of blood, eye wide and glazed, and body trembling like a leaf in the wind. The concern turned to worry in Sebastian's expression as he grabbed hold of Ciel's shoulders and tried to hold him steady.

"Are you alright?"

The question sounded odd as it hung in the air between the two males. It was quite obvious that Ciel was not alright and on any other day he might have had something to say about Sebastian's need to ask, but on any other day Ciel wouldn't have allowed himself to slip. His mask wouldn't have fallen away to reveal any turmoil on any other day.

In answer to Sebastian's question, Ciel forced himself to blink away the shock for just a moment in order to give the man a clear answer. Lifting up the picture with a shaky hand, he held it up for the other to see and spoke the words that had him so disturbed.

"I knew her."

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><p><em><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>_


	7. Ch 7 Entertainers Beware

_**A/N:**__ Delayed! Sorry 'bout that, my instructors decided to kill me with loads of assignments and give me no time to actually write. I hope this being here makes up for it though (insert half-assed smile here) _

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

"Do you have time?"

Ciel blinked up at the older male who was working to unlock the deadbolt to the door two feet away from him. Any other day he would have registered that the door led to Sebastian's apartment, but his mind was still in a state of muddled shock. It was comparable to the sensation of having ice shot into his veins, following shortly after by liquid fire. He felt hot and cold, numb and devastated. He felt the need to yell, yet he felt the need to remain silent. He couldn't believe his eyes and yet he could believe it all too well. The unanswered questions still swarmed his sluggish mind. The unanswered how, when, why... who?

He felt the crimson gaze on him, but he couldn't bring himself to care, let alone snap back at the older male like he usually did. All he could think of was that familiar face printed onto a crime scene photo. It was one thing to have seen many murder victims flashed on the news at night or printed in the morning paper, it was an entirely different thing when he knew the person. The feeling of detachment wasn't there, instead was confusion and a small trickling of pain.

Without him being completely aware of his surroundings, Ciel felt more than saw Sebastian place an arm on one of his shoulders and guide him through the open doorway. The apartment was a mirrored version of his own, which was standard of all the apartments in the building. The entranceway was nothing more than a small hallway which, Ciel noted even through his fogged mind, was slightly cramped with just the presences of the two males in it. A coat closet stood open just to the right of them, exposing the neat rows of shoes arranged across the floor of it and the pressed jackets hanging from their pegs. From just that along it was easy to tell that Sebastian was fairly organized with his things and liked them kept in a neat and orderly fashion.

"Would you like something to drink?" Sebastian asked, after discarding his shoes into the coat closet by the door. "Tea perhaps?"

Ciel nodded numbly, staring after Sebastian as the older man moved past him and towards the kitchen down the hall. He himself didn't move any further, not daring to be explore the apartment much further in than the front entranceway.

"Ciel, do you have any preferences on...," Sebastian's voice trailed off as the older male poked his head out the kitchen entrance and found Ciel still by the doorway. Two dark eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as crimson eyes took in the sight. "You're welcome to come in, Ciel. No need to linger by the door."

Ciel nodded and sluggishly moved forward. He didn't want to get this over with, in fact he rather wished he could turn around and walk right out the door. It would be easy to pretend that this hadn't happened, that this was all just some ploy of his imagination. But if he was to continue forward he'd have to face the cold, hard truth. It was something Ciel wasn't quite sure he was ready to do.

"No," he mumbled softly as he passed Sebastian.

The older man frowned, "What?"

Ciel turned to regard him with his single sapphire eye. "I said no. I don't have any preferences."

Sebastian hummed thoughtfully, before gesturing to the end of the hall. "Have a seat, I'll be there in a minute."

Ciel didn't point out that he doubted that he'd be actually done in a minute since boiling water usually took longer than that. He simply shrugged and moved into the living area, allowing his eyes to slowly roll over the apartment. The teen wasn't sure what he'd been expecting for the older male's home, but he couldn't say he was surprised. The view of the city skyline through the entire wall of windows was complimented by the black sectional taking up most of the room. A large flat screen claimed the wall across from the couch, while it's opposite was sported an entire library of books.

The teen allowed himself to move over to them, running his fingers along the spines of the books as he vaguely read over the titles. He wasn't surprised to find the large textbook looking tomes claiming home in parts of Sebastian's own private library, however he did find the fiction choices unexpected. The classic collections of Poe, Bronte, Hardy, and Dickinson being only a few of those found hidden among the countless other novels.

Ciel found himself removing a volume of Poe's works, flipping the book open to a page at random. He'd always been a fan of the poet's darker works. Something about the insanity of it all was intrigue while being of a disturbing nature. From the creases in the pages and the remaining book marks flagging certain poems, the boy assumed the book had been well used or still was. Apparently Sebastian was either a fan of the poet himself or was rather intrigued with some of his pieces.

The pages stopped turning to pause on the infamous Raven. A black page marker was tucked into the crease to mark it off, for further study or just for recollection Ciel wasn't sure of. He himself had read the infamous poem by Poe over many times before, never fully understanding what meaning lurked behind the words. Then again, poems were meant to be cryptic in that way. A poet could mean an entirely different thing than every critic or reader believed. It was the beauty in the placement of the words and the symbolism.

"A fan of Poe?"

Ciel started, turning sharply to find Sebastian holding out a mug of steaming liquid to him. He hesitated only a second before the sweet aroma floating off the liquid got the better of him and he reached out for it at the same time he replaced the book in it's home. Using both hands he clasped the mug tightly as he followed Sebastian around the sectional. The older male sat himself comfortable down on the black velvet without a moments hesitation. Ciel's eyes darted from the spot closest to Sebastian to the furtherest spot on the sectional, debating which he should take. Finally he settled on compromise and choose to settle himself down in the happy medium.

"His works are intriguing," Ciel finally admitted around a sip of tea, the rich flavor surprisingly appeasing his picky taste and earning itself a few larger sips.

Sebastian's lips lifted upwards by half a centimeter. "That they are."

The two lapsed into an awkward silence before, Ciel began shifting in his seat. He knew what the older had intended to do the moment he invited him inside, Ciel had seen his father do it a hundred times before when he was just a child. Delaying it though just seemed cruel to him, even if he figured Sebastian just meant to delay the inevitable pain he believed Ciel would face when they had to discuss any evidence the boy might know. Ciel, however, stood by getting it over sooner rather than later.

"Wasn't there something you were going to ask me?" Ciel finally asked, his sapphire eye regarded the black haired male seriously over his cup of tea.

The man sighed, running a hand through his black locks before locking gazes with the younger. "As a matter of fact there was. I just thought giving you sometime for the shock to settle would be the best decision."

Ciel nodded his understanding. "I can handle it now."

The investigator regarded him seriously for a moment; crimson eyes sweeping over Ciel's face for any indication the boy was lying. All he could find was a blank mask Ciel was so good at wearing. The indifference and calmness almost seemed out of place in the situation, but there was no panic or unstableness that could warrant a delay in their conversation.

"Very well," Sebastian sighed, reaching for a notebook that laid on the coffee table in front of them. He flipped it open to a blank page before uncapping a pen and looking up at Ciel expectantly. "I guess a name would be a good starting place."

"Her name was Mary Jane Kelly."

Sebastian jotted down the name as Ciel watched him closely before the investigator looked up at him. "And you said you knew her?"

Ciel nodded slowly before answering, "She used to work at Écarlate as a entertainer, but her antics got her fired going back a month ago. Everyone, even Grell, let her go reluctantly. We become a family at the club, since most of us don't have one otherwise, so when one of us leaves it effects all of us. Last time we heard from her she was entertaining at a rival club in another part of the city."

The raven haired man nodded, also taking note of this before freezing in the middle of his writing. Ciel watched on curiously as the man paused, before reaching for the bag of files he'd spilled in the hallway early. The teen winced at the memory, but kept a careful eye on the investigator as the male dug through the bag for whatever he was in search of. A few minutes passed before what appeared to be multiple piles of profiles scattered themselves across the coffee table.

He had to be looking for something, but going back to analyze his words Ciel couldn't help but wonder what had triggered this sudden search. Whatever it was the older was looking for apparently didn't want to be found or wasn't in the information he had in front of him, because the man swore loudly startling Ciel.

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><p>Sebastian reached out for the cell phone resting amongst the previous case files he'd been handed the moment he'd been dealt the case. The odd feeling in his gut just wouldn't go away after Ciel's brief answer, and if his experience on the job had taught him anything over the past few years is was to trust that instinct.<p>

"Please excuse me," he muttered quickly to a rather startled Ciel, before standing up and pacing to the opposite side of the room with the number already dialed into his phone.

The other end rung for a few minutes, each ring grating on Sebastian's nerves. If Bard didn't pick up the phone... Sebastian contemplated multiple ways to painfully dispose of the other male without getting caught committing the crime. It wasn't all that hard when he knew every which way to avoid the cops thanks to his line of work. At the last ring the phone was finally answered, saving him from having to go through with those plans.

"Boss, ye' better hav' a good reason for callin' me at this hour," Bard grumbled gruffly into the phone.

Sebastian choose to ignore the attitude for now and cut right to the chase. "Bard, I need you too look into something for me."

Bard sighed and there was a distinct shuffling heard in the background, likely the male removing himself from bed. "I'll be guessin' this is about the case."

"You'd be right," Sebastian responded a bit smugly. The other male should have been used to this by now, it wasn't the first time he had done this before. The raven haired man had a habit of ignore the unspoken rules of politeness and called at all godforsaken hours when something struck him as suspicious or the gut feeling of his provoked him to follow some lead perviously left un-investigated. "I need you to find out the pervious victims' occupations around the time of their death."

"Any particular reason why, boss?"

Sebastian sighed and ran a hand over his face, before glancing over at where Ciel sat on the couch watching him with that wide blue eye of his. The boy hadn't moved after he'd so abruptly ended their questioning. He just sat watching, the unanswered questions just swimming behind his eye as he waited for him to explain.

Or maybe he was trying to decode the one sided conversation he was hearing.

"Just read the files to me, dammit Bard," Sebastian growled impatiently.

"Fine, there's no need to get so harsh with me," Bard muttered crossly, earning a small chuckle from Sebastian as he waited for the male to get what he wanted collected.

The other end of the phone line was filled with the noise of paper shuffling together and the occasional crashes or curses when the half asleep Bard knocked something over. The investigator could clearly picture the other male stumbling around in the dark in a vain attempt to find the right paperwork. He of course would have a cigarette sitting lazily in the corner of his mouth by now to ease his raising temper and agitation- if he had remembered to light it or not was a different story.

" 'ey, boss."

Sebastian paused in his pacing at the other's tone. It was low and troubled, which was enough to settle the investigator's nerves on end. If his gut had been right he had a sinking feeling he knew exactly why Bard's tone was so troubled. The thought of the discovering was certainly distressing.

"Don't tell me," Sebastian began tiredly. "They were entertainers."

The other end was silent for a long moment.

"How'd ya' know?"

Sebastian grunted, slamming his fists into the closest thing to him, which happened to be his desk. How could they have overlooked that similarity? The thought hadn't even crossed his mind before to look into their victims occupations. The killer wasn't just looking for people who had the same appearance, he was looking for club entertainers. Sebastian swore violently. If that were true than any entertainer who fit under the killer's MO in the city would be endanger if they weren't able to locate him quickly.

And the damn bastard was good at covering up his tracks.

"I found out who our last victim was," he paused with a heavy sigh. "Her name was Mary Jane Kelly, she worked for a club in the city. When you are able to, look into what else you can find out about her. I have a feeling that our killer isn't going to stop at her."

Bard grunted, "Gottcha, boss."

The phone call ended on that note and Sebastian remained where he was, tapping the phone against the edge of his desk. The soft thunk, thunk of it hitting the wooden surface repeatedly helped him clear his thoughts as he tried to organize them before facing Ciel. It wouldn't do to unsettle him with the news, besides he wasn't sure if the boy would run off and tell the other members of Écarlate the new development and Sebastian couldn't have that. Something like this could cause a mass panic if the public were to find out about it.

"I think you gave me all the information I need tonight, but keep your phone close and don't leave the city just yet. I might need to get in touch with you to ask you some more questions if the need arises."

He turned to face the teen who was looking at him in surprise, that blue eye round and gleaming slightly in the lighting of the room. Sebastian found it hard not to admire it even if the situation called for being more business minded. Ciel's eye looked like a large blue orb, deeper than the sea and filled with so many things that it was impossible to decode all of his emotions and secrets in one look.

"I want to help."

Sebastian blinked at the younger male incredulously. He hoped he hadn't heard that right, but the way that eye was now sparkling didn't bode well for that theory.

"I want to help," Ciel repeated firmly.

Sebastian blanched. "No, you can't. Ongoing investigations are for law officers only, Ciel."

"I've helped my father when he worked on his cases," Ciel argued pointedly. "Besides I'm attending a few classes in psychology, I might be able to find connections you can't."

Sebastian opened his mouth to find some lie to weaken Ciel's argument, but shut it quickly. That sapphire order was narrowed in determination and Sebastian's gut sank in realization. It was a lost cause. He'd be giving in to the demand of that bright blue gaze sooner or later.

"Fine," Sebastian grumbled reluctantly. On any other occasion he would have been thrilled to spend more time with the teen, perhaps use it to try and solve the mystery that was Ciel, but he didn't want him involved in this.

The younger smiled, making Sebastian heart squeeze at the sight of it. He certainly was much more beautiful when he did so.

"Good, then pick me up at five at the club, all we have are rehearsals so I shouldn't be much later," Ciel stated as he brushed past Sebastian. "Don't be late."

"I wouldn't dare," the investigator sighed as his front door shut with a loud click.

What had he managed to get himself into? That little vixen had him wrapped around his finger and he didn't even realize it yet.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**__ Review, review, review! And maybe, just maybe, I'll forget about my studies for a few minutes and get another chapter up quicker. _


	8. Ch 8 Working for the Demon

_**A/N:**__ I feel like I apologize a lot of late updates. I went through the most serious case of writer's depression I've had yet and couldn't even bring myself to look at my writing. It didn't help that someone I knew from one of my classes found some old writing of mine and tore them apart. I knew that I hadn't really put effort into those ones, but it still hurt. _

_On a more positive note I have to say that all your reviews are the reason why this chapter is up and that I'm still writing- one such review came in a day after the earlier mentioned incident and I can't tell you how much you made me cry tears of happiness (the review is actually still sitting in my email XD). So thank you guys so much and forgive me for being too much of a lazy ass to thank all of you personally. So how about I dedicate this and the next chapter (when I get around to uploading it) to you :3 _

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

"Again! And this time make sure to keep those limbs loose, I'll have no puppets performing on stage."

Ciel sighed and nodded towards Madame Red, forcing himself not to peek over at the clock above the bar at the other end of the club. The sight would just be a reminder of how much longer he had till five, till he was out of here, but most importantly till he able to help Sebastian. It would be the chance to prove himself and he was eager to do so; show that he could be better than even his father had been. It was a large feat to accomplish, but all he knew he needed was the chance to show what he was capable of.

That was only part of the reason he'd snatched up the opportunity to help though, the other was more personal. Whatever case this was, it would provide a way to show that Ciel Phantomhive wasn't just the bastard child of Vincent Phantomhive. He'd make all those people who'd looked down on him eat their words. Ciel was determined to do that much, if not more, but he had to start somewhere and this was the perfect chance.

Mustering up his remaining energy, he moved across the stage before posing in his starting position. One leg was poised outwards, his knee bent slightly, and the toes of his barefoot resting lightly against the cool floor of the stage. An arm was held up in a perfect line at his shoulder before the elbow curled upwards so that his hand could rest his hand on his shoulder, the other slopping downwards till it rested against the only prop on stage- a bar.

"On the count of three," Madame Red commanded. "One, two, three."

Ciel's hips snapped to the side as he listened to the count tumbling out of Madame Red's mouth. The leg poised outwards moved with each snap of his hips to the left, so that every time he moved his heel would grace the floor before pulling back upwards. At the moment the movement was silent, but come show night the heels he was forced to wear would kiss the stage floor with a loud click to accent the movement.

_One-two, three-four. One-two, three-four. _

The noise of the counts being called out-loud were quickly fading as the cobalt haired teen lost himself to the repetition of the number. He'd reviewed it so many times in the past three hours that it was all but drilled into his mind. It was doubtful he could forget it even if he wanted to do so. Ciel let his mind drift as he flowed through the motions.

Mary was dead. The news sat heavily on his mind, though he'd never really gotten to know the girl when she was at the club. She'd always seemed superficial and Ciel had often regarded her with emotionless detachment. She hadn't bothered him, he hadn't bother her. It was a mutual agreement, yet her death shook him. It would be worse when the others learned of the news, yet Ciel couldn't bring himself to be the one to break it to them. He might not have been close with her, but others in the club had been and Ciel was close with most of them, even if he never showed it. Hopefully Sebastian would be the one to inform the others of her death.

Sebastian; the man had acted a far cry from his usual bastard self last night. It was almost unnerving the way he'd been now that Ciel thought about it. The older male had practically tip toed around him when he'd first brought Ciel into his apartment, as if the cobalt haired teen would shatter if pressed too hard. Even after that, he hadn't fully become himself, though Ciel suspected he'd tried to at least appear normal. However, he couldn't be sure if the male did this out of pity or if the man just dealt with him like he did with every victim's associates. It was doubtful he'd ever understand, the reasons why Sebastian did things the way he did was a mystery.

Without realizing how much time had passed, Ciel found himself in his last position. His chest heaved up and down slightly with each breath from the dancing as his last thoughts lingered on the raven haired man who was just as much of a mystery as the case he would be helping him to crack.

"That was better, though you could still work on adding more expression to your face as you dance," Madame Red complimented as she waved him from the stage with a brisk flick of her wrist. "But it'll have to do for now. Alois is in much more need of practice."

Ciel couldn't contain his sigh of relief as he moved off the stage, slipping down the front of it rather than exiting it through one of the side ramps. With light, quick steps he made his way to the bar where his bag lay where he'd dropped it earlier. He checked his cell phone first, making sure there were no calls from Sebastian canceling on him, before he allowed himself to look at the time displayed on the glowing screen.

"Have a date planned, Ciel?" Mey-Rin giggled from behind the bar.

Said teen jumped at the unexpected question and quickly snapped his phone shut, before glaring over the bar at her. No one but the entertainers and stage crew usually came for show rehearsals, but the waitress was one of the few exceptions. She, along with a few other employees, lived in the studio above the club that Grell loaned out to them graciously. That being said, it wasn't rare to see her wondering around downstairs when the others were practicing.

Ciel remembered the first time he'd came to rehearsals and seen her. In fact, Ciel remembered not recognizing her at first. The young woman with the sharp brown eyes that served customers in form fitted clothing didn't exist when the sun was up. In her place a fumbling, glasses wearing girl stood. She claimed that the contacts irritated her so she tried not to wear them as often as possible, Ciel believed she just preferred her thick glasses.

"No," he scowled. "Why would you think that in the first place?"

Mey-Rin merely grinned as she dried out a shot glass with a dry rag. "Because you're jumping around like a girl getting ready for her date to prom, you are."

The mental image of Sebastian standing at his door in a tux made Ciel blush ten shades of pink. He would never admit for a second that he found that mental picture attractive even in the slightest.

No, never.

"So it is a date!" She squealed. "Who is he?"

Ciel blanched. "Who said it was a guy?"

"What guy?"

The teen groaned at his luck as Alois wound an arm around his waist. If there was any a time when it would be worse for the blonde boy to interrupt it was right then. He could almost imagine what the other was already thinking and that was a mental picture he didn't need or want.

"Ciel is going on a date, yes he is," Mey-Rin pipped up, before Ciel could direct the conversation back on track.

Blue eyes lit up as they turned to Ciel. "What! Why didn't you tell me, Ciel? Who is he? Is he hot? Did you guys fu-"

Turning around, Ciel slapped a hand over the other's mouth before he could finish that question. "First of all, I wouldn't tell you because of questions like that," he snapped. "Secondly, I am not going on a date with anyone. I'm helping someone with some work."

Two blonde eyebrows rose up a pale forehead, before Ciel's fingers found themselves pried away from the other boy's mouth.

"Does this work include _benefits_?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ciel groaned. "As if! Sebastian is too much of a bastard to even consider doing something like that with him."

"Sebastian?" Mey-Rin mused with a puzzled look as the two boys continued to bicker. "Does this man have black hair and unusual colored eyes?"

Alois stopped his teasing to give her a confused look as Ciel frowned.

"Yes, why?" He answered carefully, the frown not fading.

Alois looked between the two of them before hopping up onto a bar stool and leaning across it so that he could peer more closely at the waitress. "Do you know him?"

She nodded, "A couple days ago, I found him wondering into the club."

The blonde leaned even further over the bar in an attempt to get closer towards her. Ciel would have rolled his eyes at the display, but he was much too curious in what Mey-Rin had to say himself to interrupt. Usually he didn't care for which customer came in when, or how they started coming, but Sebastian was an exception.

He was different.

"So you've seen him?" Alois pressed, his face growing expectant. "Is he attractive?"

Mey-Rin blushed red as Ciel stared mortified at the wink his blonde friend sent him after he asked the question, as if he were asking for Ciel's benefit.

"Very," the embarrassed waitress squeaked.

Laughing, Alois leaned back and turned his blue eyes on Ciel who remained in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "So when are you meeting this hot man?"

The cobalt haired teens' face flamed with embarrassment and he worked his jaw in order to get something out in an effort to save the situation from the sudden turn it had taken. All he succeeded in doing was making himself look like a gasping fish after it was brought up onto the docks; his mouth opening and closing, but not legible words coming out.

"Come on, Ciel! When are you meeting him?" Alois demanded.

Ciel began to stumble backwards and away from the blonde, when he felt his back collide with a solid mass. He froze, not daring to turn when a hand rested itself on his shoulder. All the possibilities of who it could be running through his mind with Grell possibly being the worst of them, because it couldn't get worse than his flamboyant boss. At least he didn't believe it could.

"Yes, do tell us, Ciel," a velvety voice purred into his ear.

If possible, the entertainer stiffened even more so as the warm flow of breath passed over a sensitive patch of skin just below his right ear. He knew that voice, would know it anywhere, and it most certainly didn't belong to Grell.

And oh, how he wished he were wrong.

"Sebastian!" Ciel squeaked, jumping away from the older male.

Said male merely straightened up with an amused chuckle, his ruby eyes glittering playfully in the dimly lit room. The sight of him, leaning languidly against the bar was enough to piss Ciel off, but that all faded when he spotted the animalistic grin on his blonde friend's face beside him. The other boy's lips were stretched far up his face, curling into a grin that would have even the cheshire cat all shades of green with envy. Ciel didn't have to ask what it meant. With Alois, it almost always spelled trouble for him.

"So this is him?" Alois purred, running his pink tongue across his lips sensually as he rolled his eyes up and down the ravenette's body. "Mey-Rin was right, you do know how to pick them, Ciel."

Sebastian's eyebrows rose half an inch up his pale forehead, his confused gaze directed solely at Ciel who was murdering Alois a thousand different ways with just his eyes. The blonde entertainer would be paying dearly for that comment.

"For the last time, I'm just going to help Sebastian with some work." Ciel spat angrily. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Trancy."

The blonde just smirked and threw a wink at Sebastian. "Take good care of our little star, if you know what I mean?"

Before Ciel could even sputter out some form of threat in retaliation, the blonde's hands came out and met his back, sending him sprawling forward. A surprised gasp flew from his lips as his cheek collided with something solid and warm. The strong scent of cinnamon and various other spices that had yet to be named by man assaulted the teen's nose as he inhaled deeply before releasing a sigh as he opened his eyes to see what he had exactly landed against.

A sapphire eye rolled up the expanse of white before meeting an pair of amused ruby orbs. Ciel's lips fell into a scowl, logically he knew that if he'd fallen against Sebastian's chest it shouldn't have seemed such a far distance from the man's face. The realization of this was slow to sink in, though when it did the boy's face colored pink as he dared a glance down.

Sapphire took inventory of everything the side of his face leaned against filling the boy with all forms of embarrassment and dread. The cool sensation against his lips revealed itself to be to the metal of the man's belt and the teen didn't look even further down to see where his chin found it's resting. He did need to look. He already knew.

And the knowledge was enough for him.

Jumping back in a frenzied attempt to get away as quick as he could, Ciel stumbled and tripped over the bar stools behind him. From the sound of the laughter around him he was glad Alois was enjoying himself, because the blonde wouldn't be laughing for long. He'd beat the other entertainer within an inch of his life for needlessly acquainting him with Sebastian's crotch. The very thought of which had Ciel flushing an even darker scarlet.

"Ciel, we have to be going," Sebastian coughed to gain the teen's attention.

It worked and Ciel nodded as he turned to face him, though his sapphire eye never quite made contact with the older male's face. Ciel doubted he'd ever be able to look in the man directly in the eyes again, not with the pervious event burned so vividly into his memory. He was mortified with what had happened, knowing that his face had been so close to something so private and intimate.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Mey-Rin, and meeting you, Alois," Sebastian chuckled as he tipped his head in a polite acknowledgement of the blonde entertainer.

Ciel couldn't help but scoff under his breath as Alois threw one of his classic flirty smiles back at Sebastian. He had to remind himself why he tolerated the blonde again, that there were times when the other provide to be a sincere and good friend. True he was an annoying brat most of the time, but Alois had been besides him at some of the worst points in Ciel's life. He never judged and for that Ciel marked him as a good friend. Considering him as such, Ciel accepted the other boy's every flaw no matter just how many of them there were- and there were plenty.

"Come on, I'm going to be late enough as it is," Sebastian joked, grabbing a hold of Ciel's shoulder as he guided the younger towards the door.

The cobalt haired teen allowed himself to be led out of the club and down to the sidewalk were the older male's black car waited patiently for them. For Ciel it was odd leaving Écarlate through the front doors, being so used to leaving through the back or the firescape. It was almost alien actually to see the front of the place, it felt like forever since he'd seen the building from this angle. He was surprised by how plain it looked during the daylight. Nothing marked it as special or for being what it was by the cover of night. No wonder customers often remarked that they had never known the place existed.

"I hope you realized you just saved his life," Ciel grumbled as soon as Sebastian slid into the driver's side of the car.

The raven haired male rose an eyebrow questioningly at the younger as he started the vehicle up. "Hmm?"

Ciel rolled his sapphire eye, directing his gaze out to the traffic on the streets as he repeated himself once more. "I hope you realize that you just saved Alois' life."

Sebastian chuckled, the low rumble of which seemed to match the tempo of the purr of the car's engine. "You really planned on killing him?"

"Or something close," Ciel muttered.

"Personally I think his prank was rather harmless."

Ciel couldn't help but to turn and gawk at the older male, who merely smirked at the expression the younger was revealing to him. The boy didn't know whether to be flustered or upset over the comment. Could Sebastian really mean that? Then again as Ciel pondered over what he knew of the male, the bastard had probably enjoyed it.

Flustered, Ciel chose to remain silent for the rest of the drive. It was a fear for his pride that kept it that way, he didn't need anything embarrassing slip out. He couldn't really be sure on if his anger with the older was for a good reason. For all he knew Sebastian could just really not care about situations like that.

"Ciel."

The entertainer turned slowly to regard the older male who was looking at him with brows furrowed. If Ciel hadn't known any better, he might have mistaken the look for worry, but Sebastian would never worry over him.

"What?" Ciel snapped when the man didn't look away.

The crease between Sebastian's brows eased slightly, but didn't vanish as he reached for the handle to the car door. "I've said you name five times in the past minute and you didn't respond."

"Well you have my attention now," Ciel grumbled as he followed Sebastian's example and got out of the car.

"That I do," Sebastian chuckled as he slipped around the car. "Mind telling me what it was that had your complete attention?"

"I think not," Ciel huffed.

Ciel took a step back from the older male as the other took a step forward. His backwards retreat was cut short when his next step had the car digging itself into his back. The demon before him grinned as he rose his hands to rest them against the car on either side of the younger male. Ciel couldn't help but think dryly of how often he seemed to be finding himself in this position. It didn't amuse him in the least that Sebastian seemed to be getting entertainment out of this either.

The smirk on Sebastian face seemed to mock the entertainer as he leaned forward so that there was only mere inches separating them.

"I don't believe you are in the position to argue with me," Sebastian purred.

Ciel narrowed his eye up at the man. "And I believe someone is going to be fired for being late."

Sebastian bowed his head and chuckled lowly before pushing himself away from the car and Ciel. "Those idiots need me too much to fire me."

"Sounds as if someone is cocky," Ciel mocked as he trotted after the older male.

Sebastian grinned down at the young male. "It's impossible to be cocky about something that's a fact."

Ciel rolled his eye, the man was impossible.

"Boss, you have a visitor waiting in your office."

Ciel stopped the same time Sebastian did and had to lean around the older male to see the person coming towards them. The man had a gruff appearance about him that didn't necessarily mean 'don't mess with me' but that was enough that people would think twice before doing so. He stood a few inches shorter than Sebastian, but unlike the lean frame of the later male the other was more stocky.

Sebastian regarded him with a slight frown, "Who?"

His question was ignored as the other male leaned around him to look at Ciel when he had caught sight of the cobalt haired teen lingering behind Sebastian. The man scratched the back of his head as he looked the small entertainer over, while Ciel tried to remain still under the scrutinization. He had never been fond of being the center of attention and situations like these often made him uneasy.

"Who's the little guy, boss?" The man finally grunted as he turned his gaze back to the older male.

Sebastian sighed and looked down at Ciel, who answered for him while trying his best not to grimace at the remark 'little'. He'd always been sensitive about his height.

"I'm helping Sebastian investigate this case," he informed the man.

Two blonde eyebrows rose.

"More like forced his way in," Sebastian muttered under his breath.

Bard chuckled as he looked down at Ciel, "I'm impressed, not many people can get 'im to do what they want. The guy's more of a demon then his nickname suggest. He'll work ya' right to the bone... The name's Bard by the way."

"Ciel," the teen stated as he shook the hand Bard offered him, before smirking in Sebastian direction. "And I'm afraid, it'll be him who'll have to watch his back."

Bard's guffawed loudly, clutching at his stomach as he bend forward from the force of it. Ciel watched with amusement as Sebastian scowled at the sight of the blonde wiping tears from his eyes while he fought his laughter.

"I 'ave to approve of this one, boss. He's a little devil," Bard chocked out between fits of hysterics.

Sebastian glowered darkly. "Bard, now that introductions have been settled, would you please like to inform me of who my visitor is?"

One look at the dark expression on the investigator's face had Bard sobered right up. He stood up straighter and motioned towards the door just down the hall from where they stood.

"William."

The name had barely had time to settle in the air between them before Sebastian was marching down the hall towards the door with Ciel following close at his heels. The entertainer turned to offer a small wave to Bard, who grinned in return.

The duo entered Sebastian's office quietly. Ciel looked over the space with curiosity. The office was larger then he had expected, but plainer as well. He had expected something similar to what he had once seen of Grell's office. The club's owner had his desk surface littered with photographs of his various lovers and family members and his entire room just screamed Grell. Sebastian office looked like no one worked in it. The black desk was bare of any personal items such as photograph frames or other odds and ends. Even the single book shelf at the far end was home to only binders with dates and years listed on them. It was strictly professional and strangely empty.

The visitor Bard had mentioned stood stiffly before the desk. He was a tall man that was neither bulky or lean, but rather something in the middle Ciel decided. His face was stern, like the harsh square frames of the glasses he wore on the bridge of his nose. Green eyes glared across the room at them, or rather Sebastian, from behind the gleam of the lens. It looked as if the affection was mutual as Ciel regarded Sebastian's own glare directed at the man.

"Michaelis."

At first Ciel wasn't sure of who said the name first; his mind signally hung up on the name alone. It only became clear when Sebastian's visitor spoke once more that he was addressing Sebastian.

"You've kept me waiting for the past," the man paused here, glancing down at the watch on his wrist before pushing his glasses further up his nose as he regarded Sebastian. "Ten minutes and forty-eight seconds."

Sebastian shrugged, moving across the room to take a seat behind the desk, unaware of the gawking stare Ciel was following his every move with. The boy couldn't believe it. Sebastian was the Demon Detective, _the_ Sebastian Michaelis. Ciel was in shock that he hadn't suspected it before. The similarity of first names, the same profession, Bard referring to Sebastian as boss. It all made sense and the teen almost slapped himself for not having connected it earlier.

"It is said to be a virtue to be punctual."

Sebastian grinned at the visitor, "I don't pride myself in being a very virtuous person, William."

"Of course not," William quipped darkly. "You should at least think of those you inconvenience with your tardiness, Michaelis."

"I like to think of it as them being lucky enough to be able to see me in the first place," Sebastian smirked.

"Unprofessional as always," William scoffed. "I've came today just to deliver these. You asked for the papers on the cold cases from other states that were similar to the one here."

William held out a thick manila folder towards Sebastian, who reached over his desk for it. As soon as the later's hands were wrapped around it, the first let go as if touching something that the other was would burn him. The room remained silent as Sebastian briefly flipped through the contents, before placing it on his desk.

"You could have mailed them," he stated smugly. "After all we both know how much you dislike seeing me."

"I don't trust the mail system or any rookies to bring them here safely," the man sniffed.

Sebastian chuckled and leaned back, "Is that all then?"

William nodded curtly, "You've wasted enough of my time for today, Michaelis."

"And time is precious," Sebastian chided smugly.

"Then I'd better get going," William spat, as he narrowed his eyes at the investigator. "Michaelis."

"Spears."

Ciel stepped aside to allow the other male to get out. The room fell oddly silent after the door slammed closed, neither male daring to break it first. Ciel was still too shocked to evening think of speaking, as he turned to regard Sebastian out of the corner of his eye. _Who would have thought_, he kept repeating to himself.

_Who would have thought.._.

"I would close that mouth of yours unless you want to capture a few flies," Sebastian joked, startling Ciel.

"I didn't know you were the Demon Detective!"

Ciel flushed when he realized what he'd said and turned his back on the investigator as he pressed a hand to his mouth. He cursed himself, the older male must have thought him stupid now.

Right on cue, Sebastian let out a soft laugh.

"How many Sebastians did you think worked in this profession?" He asked with a smirk.

Ciel turned to scowl at him, ignoring the way his cheeks were heating up with a sudden flow of blood. "I hadn't though that the city's greatest investigator would have been such a bastard."

The smirk on Sebastian's face pulled even further upwards, as he lifted up the folder William had delivered him and held it out to the cobalt haired teen. "I'm flattered you thought of me as such. Now since you offered you assistance, could you please go over these."

Ciel snatched the folder out of the male's hands with a low growl, before throwing himself down in the chair opposite of Sebastian's. The investigator shook his head at the younger's antics, amusement making the crimson orbs glitter.

"Bastard," Ciel muttered.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**__ Just going to nonchalantly insert a teasing hint of the next chapter in here, you know to leave you guys begging for it: It includes a very naked Sebastian and a very flushed Ciel ;) Let your dirty little minds have fun with that one. _


	9. Ch 9 Shadows of the Past

_**A/N: **__On the topic of this chapter. There are two things I want to address. __**One**__: before you go all yaoi rabid fangirl on me- within the first few paragraphs I mentions Ciel __**likes**__ Sebastian. Note this is not 'love' like it's just like, as in you __**like**__ your friends. Anything after that... well you can imagine whatEVER you like ;) __**Two**__: Angela is OOC in this story, she had to be slightly so to fit the role and yes I planned for it and the story line attached to her (so don't yell at me over what she brings with her just yet, I promise you it'll be worth it when those chapters come). Other than that, enjoy and **don't forget to review!** It equals faster chapters :D_

_Now onward to chapter nine!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

Ciel shut the folder in his hands, the files in it neatly arranged according to the ones that were most relevant to the least. He had to admit he was proud of himself for getting it done all in such a short amount of time, Sebastian would be shocked and just thinking of the older male's face made the cobalt haired teen smirk gleefully.

It had been four weeks since he'd started helping on the case and each day proved to be interesting. Not only did he find himself balancing school and his job, but now he had somehow managed to add helping Sebastian into the equation. Oddly enough Ciel found himself enjoying it and not just because he was doing what he was good at, but because it was with Sebastian who he was doing it with. The case the famous investigator was on hadn't had any new leads since Ciel joined it and there wasn't an increasingly difficult work load from it, leaving Ciel's offered help not needed. Yet he continued to show up at the raven haired male's office everyday at five o'clock sharp, not leaving until nine or later depending on if Écarlate was opened that night or not.

For Ciel it was difficult to pin point when he'd started transferring from going to the office for the case and when he begun going just so that he could be around the older male, but it became blatantly obvious the moment they began meeting at the older male's apartment that Ciel was mainly going just to be with Sebastian. The older had proved to have his good points beyond his initial arrogant attitude. He had a sense of humor that could break Ciel of his stoic facade and a way of making the younger feel relaxed and comfortable around him. Sebastian was also intelligent and often the two found themselves in small verbal debates against one another that were more playful than harsh. Ciel had also found him to be a challenging opponent in chess, something that never ceased to surprise him.

Towards the beginning it had been difficult to decided whether he actually liked Sebastian or if it was an effect of who Sebastian was. For weeks he'd warred with his emotions and his logical mind as he tried to sort out the reason for his trying to seek out the other's attention. In the end, he came up with a simple solution. He genuinely liked the older male. Besides, he had known the bastard side of the male before his title and that was a side that proved to be very dominate in Sebastian.

The teen sighed as he allowed his eyes to wonder over to the digital clock on his stove, he was actually due to meet the male in another hour at his place. He found himself looking forward to these times and a rare smile was pulling at his lips as Ciel arranged the files neatly together before placing them into the shoulder bag hanging on one of the barstools.

Though an hour was a lot of time to kill.

He was just about to reach over to the remote laying on his counter, when a knock coming from the front door started him. Ciel scowled as he slipped off the barstool and padded his way over to the front door. He didn't recall making plans with anyone, yet Alois had a terrible habit of showing up unannounced with the strangest requests. The teen shivered at the memory of a particular incident which had landed them both stumbling back to his apartment completely wasted from a Valentine's event at a local pub. The blonde hadn't wanted to go alone, spouting some nonsense about being seen as single- though at the time he had been- and that Ciel ought to go with him as his fake date. That had been the last time Ciel had allowed Alois to convince him to go out with him. Waking up with the blonde sprawled across him and the taste of the other's saliva on his tongue wasn't an experience he wished to repeat.

Through the peep hole at the top of the door, Ciel could catch a glimpse of whoever was waiting out in the hallway. A peek of white locks was all that was visible, before the person shifted slightly to the left giving Ciel a perfect view of their profile. It took just the sight alone to have his lips pull themselves downward into a scowl, as he stepped down and took a step back away from the door.

_What is she doing here?_

The thought was laced with malice as the boy further retreated away from the expanse of the door as if it were the very gate to the seventh tier of hell itself. If that were true, then the woman outside his door would be the devil herself. It didn't take much for him to decided that he wasn't letting this particular demon inside. She could rot on the streets for all he cared.

"I know your home, so don't you dare ignore me!"

Ciel flinched at the harsh tone hissed from behind the door. The soft voice, so drawn up with hate and loathing, brought back so many memories for the boy. Not many of them were pleasant ones, in fact they were all rather unpleasant. The nineteen year old didn't fear many people, but she was one of that few, and by the tone of her voice it was best to believe that opening the door to her would be the less painful route if he ever wanted to leave his apartment in the next forty-eight hours. Reluctantly he shuffled back over to the door and unlocked it, swinging it open to reveal the white haired woman behind it.

Angela Phantomhive could personify two very different type of people. At the moment she was simply choosing to show the fiercer side. Her lavender eyes were narrowed so far that they looked like slits, matching the tight pull of her white hair as it was forced into a strict bun. She wore a professional pencil skirt and form fitting blouse that accented her thin frame, which was made taller by the four inch peep toed shoes she wore on her feet. All in all she looked stern... and disgusted.

"Filth," she muttered as she pushed past the cobalt haired teen and made her way into the living room of his apartment.

Ciel shut his door and barely avoiding snarling at her. The way she waltzed right in like she owned the place pissed him off. She had no right to be here and he wished she would leave him alone, or better yet, fall out the damn window. Angela knew just as damn well as Ciel did that this apartment wasn't hers to touch, the only good thing Ciel's father had left for him when he'd died. It was solely left to Ciel, unlike his inheritance which he was unable to touch until he turned twenty-one. That was a fact Angela never allowed Ciel to forget, as well as the fact that he was tied under her guardianship until then as per his father's will. It was the only reason Ciel hadn't taken off yet, that and his college which he was forced to pay for with the help of scholarships and his paychecks from working at Écarlate.

"Why are you here?" Ciel demanded, in what he hoped would be an attempt to get her what she needed so she could disappear from his life.

Angela didn't respond at first. Instead she allowed her malicious gaze to wonder over the room and it's contents. Ciel knew the place was a mess, he hadn't gotten around to cleaning it from all the work he'd been caught up in, but he could bring himself to care. If it had been someone else scrutinizing his apartment, say Sebastian, he might have been more embarrassed or actually made the effort to clean it up beforehand- though the woman hadn't given him much of a notice for that anyway. Personally he didn't give a flying shit about what Angela thought about his place, she wouldn't approve even if it had been cleaned till every surface glittered.

"Quite a shame your father had to leave this place to you," she sniffed. "I could have made a pretty penny off of it. The view is gorgeous, but you've destroyed the value with your filth."

Ciel rolled his eye at her, glad that the woman's back was turned to him so that she didn't see it. He didn't need another 'incident' happening today, not when he was due to visit Sebastian. The older male would be sure to question anything, especially when last time even those who weren't close had noticed.

"What do you want?"

Angela sat herself down on the couch and plastered a sickly sweet smile onto her face as she regarded her deceased husband's illegitimate son. Ciel knew she hated him for that reason. She couldn't have children and had paid many of the world's most prominent doctors in order to find out that each test came up with the same result. Yet here Ciel stood, her husband's son born from another woman. He represented everything she couldn't have and she hated him for that.

Their relationship might have been better had Ciel looked more like his father, but as it was he stood as a reminder of his mother. While his cobalt hair clearly came from his father, his bright blue eye sparkled just like Rachel's had. Every feminine curve spoke of his mother's genes: the delicate curve of his cheeks, the slender frame, the short stature. He looked very much like her and for Angela that was like a repeated slap to the face.

"I came to inform you of a change of plans."

The words fell like stones in the pit of Ciel's stomach. The plan they'd mutually agreed on was for Ciel to just disappear from her life, which Ciel had no problem agreeing to. He hated her for everything she'd done to him, for the way she'd made his childhood a living hell. A change in these plans was something he hadn't counted on, nor did he want. Ciel prayed to God that this wasn't the case. Hoped that she meant some other plan that he'd forgotten along the line.

"A business associate of mine is considering merging their business with another, but is looking for a strong tie that will end up benefitting both parties. They don't wish to be cheated," she explained with a calmness that did nothing to help Ciel's building dread. "I happened to be very interested in this merger."

Ciel took a step back, a small frown dancing at the corner of his mouth. "Why tell me this?"

Angela grinned, "Because they have a daughter around your age. She's simply a lovely creature, if a tad innocent, but I'm sure you can manage with that. It's not as if you've been very interested in dabbling with such scenes anyway, so why not eliminate the problem before hand? This way you won't have to worry about disappointing your parents by not carrying on their lines."

"I'm afraid I'm not following," Ciel mumbled past the sudden dryness in his throat. He had a few guesses as to where this was headed, but the very idea seemed outrageous. Those kinds of things weren't done anymore.

"Ciel, you and I both know you are not that daft," Angela scolded with a glare thrown at the boy. "I'm proposing you marry the girl. I've already told her parents about you and they would be thrilled to have such a young gentleman for their little girl, though you and I also know that you're nothing more than a filthy whore."

Ciel didn't even flinch at the insult directed at him, he was still reeling at her preposition. Marriage? He honestly had never thought of something like that before, but that hadn't meant he might not have in the future when he was ready to settle down. However the idea of marrying some girl he never met was disturbing. He couldn't even think of it.

"No."

Angela froze. "What did you say?"

The teen bit his lip before repeating himself a little louder. "I said no. I won't get involved in this ploy of yours. Arranged marriages are not done today, Angela, and even if they were I'm not about to let you take control of my life in such a way. You aren't my mother and if my father had known about your true face he'd have left you nothing when he died."

Ciel was shaking and red faced by the time he ended his rant. It was the first time he'd outright defied her and he felt... relieved. The feeling however was short lived when his sapphire eye landed on Angela. The woman was glaring murderously at the boy as she rose from the couch and moved across the room in three short strides.

"Oh, Ciel, I'm afraid you aren't in any position to argue with me," she cooed falsely, running his manicured nails over Ciel's cheek on the side of his face that the eye patch rested at. The boy trembled on instinct as she moved a single finger up to run it over the velvet patch. "You remember what happened the last time you upset me."

He wanted to bark that it was something he couldn't forget, but fear had his tongue tied up in knots. It was a feeling he wasn't used to anymore, he feared very little, though Angela always had a way of dragging that which he did fear back up. If her threats had been empty he might not have been so frightened of her, but that was the thing about her.

When Angela said something, she meant it.

"So will you do as I say?" She paused, in which time Ciel reluctantly nodded. "Good boy. Then I expect you to make contact with her soon. You don't have to marry her right away, if that's what you're worried about. All I ask it that you get an engagement ring on that pretty little finger of hers before the year is up."

Ciel nodded dumbly as Angela backed away with a large smile on her face. "I'm glad we understand one another, because I would be so upset to have to take away all that money your father left for you. I'll be seeing you soon then, Ciel."

The door to his apartment slammed shut behind her, leaving Ciel staring at the spot directly ahead of him where she had once stood. He felt sick and angry. How could his father have left him to someone like her? How could the man have even married a bitch like her?

Frustrated the teen slammed his fist into the wall, before grabbing the shoulder bag from the barstool and heading for the door. He couldn't stay here for another minute. Not after she'd been inside, everything that had once seemed so familiar and safe would now reek with a reminder of her and every past torment he'd experienced from her.

On instinct he ended up in front of Sebastian's apartment, twirling the spare key the older male had lent him around his finger. The investigator had told him that if there was ever an emergency he was welcome to come in, no matter the time. It had never been something Ciel had planned on using, but considering the current situation he thought that it would be fine. If ever there was an emergency for him, Angela was it. He just hoped Sebastian wouldn't care, especially because he was a full half an hour early.

Yet he still hesitated the moment he pressed the key into the lock. He didn't want to alarm the other by barging his way in and it would be impossible to tell him about Angela. The past was something he wasn't ready to drag up and in order to explain the pervious event, Ciel would have to spill his entire history. He couldn't do that just yet. Ciel considered acting as if he hadn't known the time, while it was a weak excuse it was more believable then anything else he could come up with.

Drawing in a deep breath, he reached for the door and paused. In a flash of second hesitation, Ciel withdrew and turned his back to the door. Why was he being so chicken? It didn't make sense to him, it was only Sebastian. The man wasn't likely to care.

Yet the door loomed behind him, an impenetrable blockade.

"Coward," Ciel grumbled to himself, leaning back against the door.

Instead of solidity, he found himself falling backwards. His arms waved about frantically for any purchase to right himself as the world tilted dramatically. The fall lasted for a brief few seconds before the impact of the floor drew a groan of pain from the young entertainer. Ciel slowly sat himself upright, rubbing his aching back as he took a bewildered glance around the entrance of Sebastian's apartment.

A blue eye shifted from the open doorway to the empty hallway and back again. He half expected Sebastian to miraculously appear out of thin air, wearing his signature smirk as he laughed at Ciel's expense for falling for such a cheap trick.

But that never happened.

Standing, Ciel brushed himself off and eyed the door. It must have been unlocked, that was the only thing that would make sense. The idiot probably forgot to shut it all the way, Ciel decided.

"Some investigator," Ciel muttered as he shut and locked the door behind himself.

The teen dropped his bag in it's usual place besides the couch and took a look around the empty room. A frown tugged at his lips as the entertainer glanced backwards into the kitchen, expecting to find the older but finding nothing. He sincerely hoped Sebastian wasn't careless enough to leave the door open when he was gone. Even though the apartment building did have some of the highest security the city had to offer, it didn't necessarily mean that you wouldn't be robbed if you left the doors wide open. That was an invitation any thief would be tempted to take. Ciel would have expected the older male to have known that.

A closer peek over the granite counter top revealed that a kettle of boiling water was heating on the stove. Ciel took that as a sign that Sebastian was home and wonder towards the back hallway. He hadn't been much further than the living area yet and it would have been a lie had he said it was just the search for the older that had him exploring that back rooms. Curiosity boiled to life in the entertainer as he stuck his head into through the back bedrooms.

"Sebastian," Ciel called, peering into yet another room. The stir of air spun up by the door opening caught Ciel in the face, making his nose twitch. Without any other warning he found himself being bent forward with the force of an unexpected sneeze.

"Cats?" He asked in disbelief, but all the evidence he'd ever need to prove that lay before him in the form of scratching posts, feather teasers, stuffed mouses, and various other cat accessories scattered the room. Ciel wrinkled his nose up in distaste. Besides his allergies, the entertainer just downright disliked the creatures. They were pointless, lazy beings that mooched off their owners.

What surprised him however, was that he'd never taken Sebastian for a cat person. It just went to show how little he knew of the older. A month wasn't exactly a lot of time to get to know every detail of someone's life.

Ciel shut the door before any lingering cat hair could affect him further and continued his pervious path down the hall. There was only one room left at the end of the hall and, since he hadn't passed the master suite yet, it had to be Sebastian's. If Sebastian were home, which Ciel was beginning to doubt he was, it'd be the only room he could be in. There weren't exactly many hiding places in the apartment where he could hide if he wasn't.

He knocked softly before cracking the doorway open, seeing nothing he opened it further to omit himself. The room before him wasn't anything he had expected to see, though he decided it suited the older male's taste. The furnishing was simple though it contained an odd mixture of contemporary and vintage pieces that didn't necessarily look out of place together, but didn't necessarily belong together either. An even simpler scheme of black coated everything, with small highlights of silver peeking out every now and again.

A meow drew his attention back to the bed where his blue eye narrowed in on the lone black cat nestled in the sea of equally dark material. He'd almost missed the tiny creature where it was blended in with the comforter. The kitten, he assumed from the mere size of the thing, was no bigger than a few inches tall and was pure midnight color with large green eyes. A small speckle of white peeked out at the tip of the creature's nose, which could barely be seen from the distance Ciel stood at.

The small kitten blinked slowly at him, before letting out another loud meow at the entertainer. Even if it was cute, Ciel's pervious prejudice against the creatures didn't waver in the slightest. He remained glaring at the kitten, even as it leapt off the bed and padded over towards him with another meow.

Ciel stepped away from it, he would not be having an allergy attack. Sneezing repeatedly for the next hour or so was something that the entertainer wished to avoid at all cost. It wasn't exactly the most fun thing one could be stuck doing, which would be exactly what would happen if that cat got too close.

The boy flapped his arms in front of him in an attempt to scare it off. "Shoo! Get!"

An almost questioning meow answered his antics, before the svelte creature padded forward on light feet. Facing no choice, Ciel stumbled further backwards while adding another reason to hate cats to his already long list.

They just didn't know when they weren't wanted.

The same moment Ciel's back collided with the wall, the bathroom door opened. The warm moisture in the air went ignored as the young male's gaze found the figure that had frozen at the sight of him. Deep blue locked with scarlet orbs, staring one another down. One not fully comprehending the situation, the other frozen in the shock of the moment.

Ciel took in Sebastian slowly, not fully aware of what he was seeing while being all too aware at the same time. The usually disarranged mess of spikes were plastered to the older's handsome face, sleek with water. The blue gaze locked onto a stray droplet that detached itself from a lock of the raven hair, following it's descent down the man's neck and sculpted chest. He had to swallow hard at the sight of the lean frame. Sebastian was built like a swimmer, lean but cut in all the right places; his pale skin stretching over firm muscles. Not realizing what he was doing, Ciel's gaze drifted further southward. A brilliant pink tainted his cheeks and in that moment the situation fully sank in.

Sebastian was standing before him in the nude and, whether he would like to admit it or not, he'd just checked the man out fully. Worse still, he'd couldn't honestly say that he wasn't in the least bit affected by it.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't realize-... Shit!"

Unable to force another word out of his stuttering mouth or form a coherent sentence, Ciel fled the room his face heated with a mixture of embarrassment and shame of himself. Fate had it out for him, he decided. Things like this just didn't happen this frequently to a single person. Someone out there really enjoyed when he made a mockery of himself.

Groaning, Ciel dropped himself down onto Sebastian's couch, taking care in burying his flushed and burning face into the cushions. Behind his closed eyes the scene repeated itself over and over, like a movie on instant replay. With each turn of it over, Ciel sunk deeper and deeper into a wallowing embarrassment. He couldn't believe it! Why had it taken him so long to react? Sebastian probably noticed his lingering gaze- what would he tell the older male then? That he had liked what he saw? That thought was instantly pushed aside and locked up in the deep recesses of his mind where it would never be revisited.

Ever.

"You'll ruin my couch if you keep doing that."

Ciel went rigid at the smooth tone, scared to turn and face the older while just as equally frightened of remaining in his current position and perhaps risk further upsetting the other- because there was no way Sebastian was willing to just forget what had just happened. This logic however had found a flaw in the way the older's voice was lightly joking at he teased him, but Ciel pushed it aside as the other's way of making him feel falsely secure before he got hounded.

Left with few options, Ciel dragged himself upright but kept his eyes glued to the ground as if the carpet were sudden the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. The young entertainer half wished it were capable of opening up and swallowing him whole at this point. It seemed like a pretty fair way to go- death by designer carpets that was. Not embarrassment.

"So I see you've completed the files," Sebastian mused pacing the floor before the couch. Ciel watched his jean clad legs pass back and forth, not willing to look up and meet the investigator's gaze. He was afraid of what he'd see there. Scorn, dislike, or worse yet: nothing at all. He'd just been getting used to having the older male around for company, Ciel didn't want to lose that companionship over something he'd stupidly done.

"Ciel," his name came out in an exasperated sigh. "We're not going to be able to get anywhere if you can't even look me in the eye."

The deep blue gaze remained locked on the floor.

Another sigh reached his ears before he felt a cool finger curl under his chin, yanking it upwards. His blue eye widened, meeting the ruby orbs from inches away rather than feet. Once more Ciel found himself swallowing hard against a suddenly dry throat. He hadn't realized just how vibrant Sebastian's eyes were before. The odd colored irises were flecked with various shades of red that reflected the light perfectly and, depending on what type of light they were under, shone accordingly. A slight tip of the older male's head could have those scarlet eyes turn a deep wine color or an even more brilliant, bloody crimson. In their uniqueness, they were oddly... captivating.

Realizing the trail of his thoughts and the proximity of their faces, Ciel yanked back with a flustered gasp.

"I've... I forgot, but I have somewhere to be," Ciel sputtered, letting the first excuse his muddled mind could produce slip past his lips. "I just came by to drop that off and tell you, but I have to be going now!"

Leaping from the couch and away from Sebastian, Ciel tripped over himself three times on his way to get his bag. He could feel the older male's gaze on him as the other rose up more slowly.

"Ciel, wait a sec-," Sebastian began.

"Gotta go! No time to talk," Ciel cut him off curtly, speaking faster then usual in an attempt to prevent the other from cutting him off. "I'll see you... Uh... We'll figure it out later!"

The door slammed closed on Sebastian's surprised and confused face, leaving Ciel breathing heavily on the other side. Giving it one last glance, Ciel pushed away from it and sped his way back to his apartment. Nothing good had come from that, nothing. Except, he had forgotten all about Angela.

For the time being.


	10. Ch 10 Abduction

_**A/N:**__ I'm glad to say this chapter is done with. I'll be editing this sometime tomorrow, so try to be lenient with my mistakes. I wanted to get this up with ASAP because I've been a lazy ass and haven't uploaded recently. I hate my busy life （╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ I can't wait to write the next chapter though!_

_Until then, enjoy and review._

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

Light streaming in from between a crack in the curtains warmed Ciel's face to an uncomfortable degree, stirring the sleeping teen awake. He twitched under it before peeking through a heavily lidded eye, only to groan and roll over. There was no need to glance at the alarm on the bedside table for him to guess that it was sometime near when he usually had to get up. As if on cue his alarm cried out shrilly, prompting his hand to shoot out from the protection of his blankets to slam down on the off button.

Ciel flopped over onto his back and stared blankly up at the ceiling. Half of him had the mind to ignore the calling of his alarm and go back to sleep. He wasn't usually one for fanciful escapes and dreaming, however dreams did offer an actual escape from facing the embarrassment. A grimace worked a way onto his face as he groaned lowly, the reminder his latest faux pas coming flickering to life behind his lowered lids.

Yes, sleeping sounded tempting now.

Sebastian- he'd want answers sometime today about last night's sudden fleeing episode. That Ciel was sure of and he wouldn't expect anything else from the older male. He however didn't have those answers to provide. There wasn't really a lot that left him confounded, yet all those feelings that those ruby eyes had stirred awake when he'd stared at them left him at a lose. In that moment when those eyes were inches away the only reasonable option seemed to have been to run away.

Either that... or kiss the man senseless.

The idea of his lips moving in sync with the older male's was near maddening. Those attractively thin lips pressing firmly against his. His tongue sneaking in to completely devour his mouth whole. He could clearly imagine it now, the way he'd melt into complete submission underneath the older's touch. The images shooting heat straight down to his groin.

Ciel's thoughts came to an abrupt halt at the realization. His blue eye widened as he dared to allow his gaze to travel down to where the pile of blankets and sheets hid where a certain part of him was begging for attention.

_No, No, No..._

"Fuck," Ciel muttered, angry with himself for getting carried away and angry at the man behind the fantasies.

Shifting his weight he let out a small hiss and cursed himself with every foul word he could think of. Getting hard over just thinking about the man- it was just ridiculous as well as embarrassing. He hadn't thought of Sebastian like that, at least not until now. The older had been a bastard even on his best days, not exactly what Ciel would have thought himself attracted to.

Trying his best to ignore the way the cloth of his baggy sleep shorts rubbed against the sensitive skin creating a ghosting sensation of friction, Ciel dragged himself out of bed. It demanded for attention, but he wouldn't even consider touching himself. He hadn't sunken that low quite yet.

Spying the shower through the bathroom doorway, Ciel considered a cold shower would help to calm himself down. Glancing down once more, he decided to re-amend that thought. An iced bath sounded good.

Grabbing a fresh pair of clothes from out of the closet, he escaped into the privacy of his bathroom with every intention of soaking for however long it took. By the time he scrubbed himself clean the problem had passed and he quickly climbed out and went through the rest of his usual morning routine without another issue.

On the way to the kitchen, the teen ran through everything he had on schedule for today. Classes began in an hour, three of which he shared with his obnoxious blonde co-worker. He grimaced at the thought of telling Alois about Sebastian. The blonde would just love that, more than likely annoying him about it endlessly. Again he was prompted to reconsider why exactly he tolerated the other's company.

Putting a mug of hot water into the microwave, Ciel punched in the time and moved over to his cell phone to check for any messages while he waited. There was a moment he forgot to breath when he saw five unread messages and two missed calls. For a dreadful second the teen thought it might have been Sebastian chewing him out for last night peculiar behavior. The tension released and relief flooded his body when it was only Alois's name that flickered across the screen instead of a particular ravenette.

As the microwave beeped he decided to leave responding to the male for later and retrieved the steaming mug. Mixing in a packet of tea, he graded a scone from a container sitting on the counter top and settled on one of the bar stools by the counter.

Quiet mornings used to be a part of the routine for him, but the past month had been anything but. If it hadn't been Sebastian dragging him out of the apartment for a quick breakfast, it was Alois. Ciel had to admit he had taken the past month for granted. Company had never been something the boy had kept or envied, he liked his privacy. Now, when there was no noise or easy banter, the silence was almost deafening however. He found himself missing the company.

Scowling, Ciel glared down at the half eaten scone on his plate. What was he thinking? He didn't need anyone to live. He was fine on his own and the years since his father's death more than proved that. Hadn't he been alone ever since they laid his father into the earth? It wasn't as if Angela had been much of any company.

His mood turned sour, Ciel pushed the rest of his scone away and let out an annoyed sigh. First Sebastian and now this, he was ready to write himself off as temporarily delusional. Perhaps he had a fever...

The moment Ciel pressed his hand to his forehead the doorbell to his apartment rang. Sighing, Ciel dropped off the stool and stalked towards the doors. It had to be Alois, checking on him after he had ignored his texts and calls. Though that wasn't truthfully the case, it would be to the blonde.

"Alois, I was just about to respond. You don't need to come marc-," Ciel snapped as he opened the door, only to freeze midway through his rant as his sapphire eye took in the person standing behind it.

He was not Alois.

"Sebastian?"

The older male's name came out in a mortifying squeak, that had Ciel blushing crimson. Clearing his throat he tried again, "What are you doing here?"

Ignoring the question, the investigator stepped around Ciel and into the apartment. Ciel's eye followed him, a small scowl forming on his face as he shut the door and followed after him.

"Morning to you as well, Ciel," Sebastian chuckled, as he turned to smirk at the scowling teen.

"What are you doing here, Sebastian?" Ciel asked again, making a point of ignoring any proper greetings. It was easier to forget about the events of the night before when he was annoyed.

A look of amusement gleamed in the older male's scarlet eyes, sending them dancing and Ciel's stomach with them. Well there went the annoyance, he thought sourly; more annoyed with himself than anyone else at the moment.

"I came to pick you up," Sebastian replied flippantly.

Ciel's eye widened. "Was there another murder last night?"

A smirk crossed the older's face along with a low chuckle. "No."

"Something to do with the case?" Ciel pressed, confusion coloring his tone.

"Once again, no," Sebastian grinned, clearly amused by the whole thing. "We're going on a trip."

Ciel tried not to look stunned by the reveal, but was failing miserably. His eye had widened significantly in size and his pouting mouth had fallen agape. A trip? He couldn't remember ever agreeing to going on one or even the investigator mentioning one around him. Ciel couldn't even think of any hints that had been dropped within the past week. Coming up blank, he decided that Sebastian was playing a game with him.

Tearing himself back out his thoughts, Ciel looked back at Sebastian to find the older male disappearing into his room. Irritation caused his eyebrows to twitch as he followed behind him, sharp words ready to be set loose upon the older.

"What do you think you're doing?" He growled.

The older man was shifting through the contents of his closet, one of Ciel's duffle bags in his hands. Sapphire narrowed on pieces of his stuff being tossed carelessly into it. Every now and then the raven haired male would pause as he looked over the neatly hanging clothing before selecting something and moving on with the pattern.

Sebastian looked over his shoulder and smirked at the boy. "Packing."

"I didn't ever agree to go," Ciel snapped. "And hasn't anyone ever taught you that going through other people's things is rude."

"I vaguely recall something like that," Sebastian admitted with false innocence as he frowned at a shirt before tossing it into the bag in his hands.

"Then let me refresh that memory," Ciel retorted.

As he opened his mouth to continue the sound of the zipper cut him off sharply. He had barely a second to zone in on the bag before it came flying at his face. Reacting on reflexes alone, he caught it just before it crashed into him. He glared at the black fabric before lowering it and glaring at the older male. He's lucky that hadn't hit him, Ciel thought scathingly at he continued glaring daggers at Sebastian.

The older either wasn't affected by it or didn't see it as he chuckled and grabbed Ciel by the boy's shoulders. Wheeling him around, he began shoving the younger towards the door- much to Ciel's utter surprise.

"You can do that on the way there," Sebastian chirped cheerfully.

Ciel gapped as he was pushed into the elevator, the doors falling shut just as Sebastian leaned over to press the button for the lobby floor. He couldn't believe it. Anger was welling up in him red hot as he sneered at Sebastian. He had things to do, things to get done.

"I have classes that I can't miss," Ciel bit out. "I'll lose credit for them if I skip out on the whim of an idiot."

Sebastian looked triumphant as he glanced over at the younger with a sly grin that clearly read of his victory.

"I already called to inform your professors that you'd be busy for today and most of tomorrow and that sadly you wouldn't be able to attend any of your lectures," he informed him with a grin. "They agreed wholeheartedly when they learned of who was placing the request."

Ciel turned his face away from the older to pout at the elevator wall. Damn him.

"You shouldn't do that sort of thing without consulting me first," he grumbled out, though he knew it was a weak argument against the older.

Sebastian chuckled and leaned forward to tweak the younger's cheek with his forefinger and thumb just as the elevator slid open. "I only did what was necessary to get you to go. You wouldn't have agreed otherwise."

Ciel turned to scowl at him, briefly considering snapping at the hand that dared touch his cheek. He pushed the instinct aside, figuring how childish that would make him seem- and because it was something that he knew Alois would do. The blonde always had that quirk of sticking his tongue out a people, he of course claimed it was because he liked to show off his stupid tongue piercing but Ciel suspected that it was just childish behavior.

"I didn't agree this way either," he grumbled lowly, but even so Sebastian still heard.

The older male smirked and gently guided the other forward through the lobby. Ciel tried not to glance around when he felt the stares turning to them. A light dusting of pink sprinkled his cheeks at the attention. Ciel directed his gaze straight forward to avoid looking at any of their faces. These weren't the usual scornful glances and that was making it even more unnerving then usual. He could at least ignore those, these assuming gazes seemed to bore right into him. They followed him and Sebastian along their path across the lobby, some turning to whisper to their companion under their breath. The cobalt haired teen could easily make a guess at what they were saying and, quiet frankly, that mortified him all the more.

A gush of chilled air hit him in the face as they passed through the doors to the valet parking station outside the front of the building. Sebastian's car already sat idle under the awning a valet standing besides it with a pair of keys dangling from his fingers.

"Your car, Mr. Michaelis," the young man stated, as he held out the keys.

Sebastian took them and offered a thanks as he walked around the vehicle to the driver's side. Ciel watched him go, but remained firmly planted where the older male left him by the doors. He could easily run. Make a quick dash to the elevator and pray it'd get to him before Sebastian could. It was a reasonable thought, but there was one flaw. The older male wouldn't give up that easily. He'd probably march up to Ciel's room and stand by the door until the younger was forced to come out.

He couldn't understand why though. What had Sebastian so dead set on taking him for a trip? Ciel would have expected him to have avoided him after last night. It should have been embarrassing enough that he had seen the other nude, but Sebastian had already proven he could brush that off. However how could he forget about the awkward escape he performed when Sebastian had gotten too close? He had to have figured something out from that. Figured out that perhaps Ciel harbored... feelings for him?

Ciel worried his bottom lip at the thought. These weren't exactly thoughts he should be allowing himself to have. Sebastian was another male- he shouldn't even be considering him like that.

"Am I going to have to carry you into the car, Ciel?"

Said boy started as hot breath caressed his ear.

Close. Too close.

Ciel jumped backwards, falling against the passenger's side of Sebastian's car as the older male chuckled at his antics. He glowered at him, well at least someone was getting amusement from this.

"I'll be fine," he snapped, making a show of getting into the passenger seat.

He could faintly hear Sebastian laughing at him as the older moved around the exterior of the car to join him inside. Once comfortably seated, the older glanced over at Ciel before putting the car in gear and pulling out into the city traffic.

A few moments of silence passed, in which Ciel glowered out his window and watched the city blur past. It wasn't until he saw the towering buildings growing smaller and further apart did he consider where they were going. Thinking back on it, Sebastian hadn't mentioned anything about their destination. For all Ciel knew, the investigator could have been driving him off to the middle of nowhere to drop him off and leave him there as a cruel prank.

And as the first trees began to pass by in clumps, this fear began to become a dreadful reality.

"Sebastian...?" Ciel ventured, turning to glance at the raven haired male.

"Hmm?" The older hummed, inclining his head towards the younger to show he was listening.

"Where are we going?"

Sebastian's regarded Ciel for a moment before smirking and turning back to road. "You'll have to wait till we get there."

Ciel frowned. "You're not going to tell me?" He guessed, though he fully knew that the older had no intention of doing so.

"No."

Ciel turned to pout out the window. "You know this could be counted as kidnapping."

"However you got in the car willingly," Sebastian pointed out with a smirk.

"I hardly had a choice," Ciel retorted. "You would have carried me back to the car if I had run."

Amusement gleamed in the other's scarlet gaze. "I believe you think too highly of me."

Opening his mouth to retaliate, Ciel was cut off by the cell phone in his pocket going off. Abandoning the losing argument, the teen dug into his jean pockets for the phone. A low oath left his lips as Alois's name was displayed on the small screen. With the chaos Sebastian had created for him, he'd forgotten to send the blonde a text earlier. Knowing Alois, the older boy was probably freaking out right about now.

[_Where the hell are you?_]

Ciel sighed and slide a quick glance at Sebastian before typing out a response and sending it.

[_I meant to get back to you earlier, but I got kidnapped._]

He probably shouldn't have sent that to Alois, but he couldn't resist the urge to mess with him and he did consider what Sebastian had done kidnapping. It would serve the older right if he got in any trouble because of this.

[_Oh my god! Ciel, where are you? Are you alright? Who's got you? Should I call the police?_]

Ciel smirked at the frantic text, well imaging the blonde pacing up and down with his fingers poised over the nine and one buttons. He slide a sly glance over to Sebastian, who was currently focused on the road, completely unaware of what Ciel was doing.

[_Can you convince the police that their best investigator could commit a crime?_]

The response was instant.

[_WHAAAAAAAAT? You're with SEBASTIAN?_]

Ciel sighed and took his time typing out his response. Alois would be eating up whatever he said next and no doubt jumping to the sorts of conclusions he shouldn't.

[_Yes._]

Ciel barely had time to set the phone back down on his lap before it was vibrating again. Glancing down, his sapphire eye widened at the sight of all the messages pouring in. And the number kept on getting bigger as Alois kept texting the first things that kept popping into that frenzied head of his.

[_WHERE?_]

[_WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME!_]

[_YOU & SEBASTIAN?_]

[_WAIT TILL THE OTHERS HEARS ABOUT THIS!__**]**_

_** [**__DETAILS!_]

He didn't even dare go on to the read the rest, instead gave in with an audible sigh as he tucked the cell phone back into his pocket. The plan of getting Alois to take pity on him and have the boy come to get him, maybe even create some mess back in the city for Sebastian to deal with, had gone down the tubes. If anything it only served to backfire in his face. Alois would be waiting less-than-patiently for him to get back so that he could bagger him on things that were not going to happen.

Why did it seem that the world was against him?

* * *

><p>Sebastian set the car into park and sat back with a inaudible sigh leaving his lips. He was more than glad the drive was over the anticipation of reaching their destination had been killing him. He'd been wanting to escape the city for weeks now, but the opportunity had just presented itself only recently. Bringing Ciel along had been spur of the moment rashness on his part, though Sebastian hoped the boy would forgive him for it. The events of the night before had left him with a terrible sense of guilt eating away at him. Ciel was sensitive about people invading his personal space and getting too close, Sebastian knew that, and couldn't help but believe that maybe he'd pushed a bit too far in those last few moments before the younger had fled. He wanted to make it up to him.<p>

He glanced over at Ciel, smiling softly at the sight the boy made. Somewhere along the ride teen had succumbed to the lulling of the car and fallen asleep with his forehead resting against the passenger side window. The way his softly curved face had lost its hardened edge due to peaceful dreams was almost endearing. Full lips were no longer restrained into a firm scowl, but rather softened into a kissable line; eyebrows usually drawn together in annoyance were relaxed over shut eyes which hide the deep blue Sebastian had come to favor seeing over the past month- the younger had no idea the effect he had on the investigator who was having a hard time bringing himself to wake the other up. It seemed almost a sin to break such a beautiful picture.

"Ciel," Sebastian called softly, reaching out a hand to gently shake the other awake by the shoulder. "Ciel, you need to wake up. We're here."

A small mutter fell past the boy's pink lips, before a small hand came up to swat the older away. The display would have been cute had Ciel not screwed his face up as he attempted to roll away from the offender trying to awake him. Still Sebastian couldn't help but to chuckle under his breath as he was forced to lean over the console to try a different form of attack.

"Ciel," he called the other's name into his ear in barely a hush whisper, fighting to keep his tone serious but unable to hide his building humor. "If you don't get up I'll awake you with a kiss."

It was as if Sebastian had dropped a cat into a tub of frigid water- though he would never consider doing such a thing. Ciel jolted up and away from him, his back slamming into the car door behind him. Sebastian chuckled and leaned back onto his side of the car before reaching for the handle and getting out.

"That got you up," he stated smugly. "Grab your stuff, there's somethings I want to show you."

Cerulean blinked at him slowly before the information seemed to sink in and mechanically the boy reached for the bag settled at his feet before following the older out of the car. Sebastian watched him for a moment, unable to mask the amusement on his face as he watched Ciel stumble around for his things before joining him.

"Are you going to tell me where we are now?" Ciel demanded.

Sebastian smirked as he waved the younger to follow him. It looked as if the last of the drowsiness had faded and the demanding prince was back.

"If you can't see then I'm not sure telling you will help," Sebastian stated with amusement as he gave a pointed look ahead of them and up the curving path that broke away from the drive.

The entertainer gave him a baffled stare after quickly scanning their surroundings, before his blue orb joined Sebastian in staring at the building appearing before them.

The wave of homesickness hit Sebastian like a sucker punch to the gut at the sight of it. The building standing proudly before them could more correctly be describe as a small manor, but for the investigator it was a second home. The classic bay house was made of soft gray-brown bricks with a wide wrap around porch. Glass windows peeked out from the walls, some hidden by the immense overhanging branches from the forest that hovered at the edges of the green lawn- which was now littered by a heavy blanket of the changing leaves. While its architecture was surely beautiful, the memories it held were more so. This was his summer home during the escapes his parents had taken from the city when he was growing up. A place which now belonged to him due to less than fortunate circumstances.

He pushed back the sadder memories haunting the place and centered himself in the present- the now. Smiling, he focused his attention on the younger male who was examining him with a contemplating look before the blue orb flew back to the building before them.

"Is this yours?" Ciel ventured, his face already telling that he knew the answer but was just asking to verify it.

Sebastian nodded and strode across the porch to the front door. Unlocking it, he held it open for the teen to step inside and explore ahead of him.

"It's a place I like to visit when the city gets too much for me. I like the quiet and privacy," he added the last part simply.

A cobalt head of hair nodded, moving about the room as the young male looked everything over with a curious eye. Sebastian observed him with a small smirk, trying hard not to liken the boy's curiosity to a kitten exploring it's new home but failing.

"The bedrooms are all upstairs. Feel free to choice whichever you like asides the master, which is at the end of the hall."

Ciel straightened up from viewing the pictures Sebastian had never bothered to remove from the bookshelf in the entranceway and nodded as his eyes sought out the staircase to the second floor. Sebastian watched the boy disappear up the staircase before tossing his own bag onto the couch and moving towards the kitchen.

He gathered a glass from on of the cupboard and filled it water before leaning against the counter and looking out the window staring out over the view of the sound. The gray waters looked calm today, but depending on the day its looks could be deceitful. It reminded him of people and how they could be just as cruel as the rip currents hiding beneath the calm waters- some more so then others, like the killer running loose back in the city at the moment. The thought made him anxious to get back there as soon as possible. Though the plan was only to remain here for the rest of the day and return the next morning, the idea of a killer attacking innocents while he indulged himself in a few selfish moments of peace made him sick.

"Why did you never tell me you had a place on the island?"

Sebastian glanced back in surprise at Ciel, before lifting his shoulders in what was meant to be a shrug. The boy merely raised his eyebrows and tapped his foot expectantly for a better answer.

Sighing, Sebastian turned back to look at the water. "It didn't come to mind."

The younger rolled his eye. "Didn't come to mind because you never think of it? Or didn't come to mind because you thought everyone who lives in our building has a place here?"

The investigator glanced over at the younger male surprised by the sharpness in his tone only to see that it wasn't just in the teen's voice. He couldn't be certain of what it was, but he saw something dark lingering in the depths of blue- something troubling. Pushing away from the counter, Sebastian turned to face the younger on fully.

"Didn't come to mind as in I never thought it was important to mention before," he corrected.

The blue of Ciel's eye seemed to storm with emotions that were indecipherable to the investigator, which reminded him of the originally reason he had been so drawn to the younger in the first place. There was a mystery behind his every thought and emotion, all of which he was just itching to bring to light. He wanted to understand Ciel just as much as he wanted to be around him.

"Would you like to take a closer look at the beach?" Sebastian suggested. "I know the season isn't right but-"

"Yes!"

Sebastian couldn't help his look of complete astounded surprise at the delighted noise that left the younger's mouth. The other didn't seem to believe it as well, with the way he had his hand slapped over his mouth and was flushing an adorable pink.

Ciel looked down and away from Sebastian as he muttered out a lower, "I mean, can I?"

Sebastian couldn't resist the urge to reach out and ruffle the cobalt locks with his hand as he pushed past the teen to the back porch with a small chuckle escaping from his lips. Who was he to deny a look of such completely, childlike adoration? The first mention of the beach and Ciel had looked as if he were a child in a candy shop after being told he could have everything and anything he wanted from inside.

"I was the one who asked first, wasn't I?" Sebastian joked as he stepped down and began the trek across the lawn towards the place where it slopped down into the mixture of sand and stone. Behind him he could clear Ciel's lighter footsteps, quick and hurried with restrained eagerness that showed in the way his face began to light up the closer and closer they got to the lapping water.

"Have you never been to the beach before?" He teased.

Ciel shook his head. "No. My father was always working and... Angela never had time for such things."

Sebastian caught the way he hesitated on his stepmother's name, as if just by saying it he would conjure up the devil himself. It made the itch to dive into the younger male's secrets burn to life, but the investigator quashed them. His answers could wait, he had no intentions of driving Ciel away for them.

He settled instead of continuing the teasing. "This isn't exactly the time of year for beaches, but even during the summer this doesn't compare to the ones down south. Perhaps I should abduct you and take you on a trip there next."

The teen flushed and glanced away at the water, careful to avoid the other's eyes.

"I will have you charged, if you even think of it."

* * *

><p>Sebastian shifted uncomfortably against the weight on his chest, stirring slowly awake at the feeling. His body protested the movement as he maneuvered himself as upright as he could get, before allowing his scarlet eyes to find their way down to the source of his immobility.<p>

To say he was shocked would have been an understatement.

The raven haired male completely froze over at the sight of Ciel laying on top of him, sleeping blissfully and completely unaware of his compromising position laying half on Sebastian's chest and half between the man's legs. Sebastian held his breath as the teen shifted in his sleep, afraid he'd woken him, only for the boy to bury his face into the older male's chest. While Ciel slept on unaware, Sebastian was all too aware of everything: including the way the younger's hips were pressed firmly against his own, creating the slightest bit of friction every time the boy moved in his sleep.

He exhaled slowly trying to distract himself before he let any thoughts carry him away. Instead he focused on how they had gotten to be in this position in the first place. He thought back to last night, remembered how he had suggested after a few meaningless hours of walking down the abandoned strip of beach that they head back and- when Ciel's stomach had decided to voice itself- that they have dinner. He'd remembered making a simple dish of spaghetti with pesto and freshly diced tomatoes out of the measly ingredients he had stocked in the kitchen. Ciel's face of pure bliss when he'd bitten into it had been worth the effort of searching through everything to actually cook a dish instead of popping a can of soup in a bowl and calling it a night. After that he hadn't been able to resist the urge to check in on the city and had moved to check out the news in the living room. Ciel had joined him while muttering something about not being tired and refusing to sleep. Beyond that there was nothing and Sebastian could only assume they both fell asleep like that; somewhere during the night unconsciously repositioning themselves into a somewhat more comfortable situation on the couch.

Though Ciel would doubtfully see it like that.

Sebastian sighed at the mental image his mind provided with him in the case the boy did wake up. All hell would rain down on him and there would be no savior to aid him.

Keeping this in mind, the older male carefully began to maneuver his way out from under the teen. He decided that depending on how far he was able to slip away before the boy woke up, he might be able to pass it off with some lie. Sebastian was able to succeeding in getting half his body out from under Ciel, when the sleeping boy seemed to have other ideas.

An arm snaked around his waist, barring him from moving as the unconscious boy buried his face into Sebastian's lower stomach. The older groaned out of a mixture of frustration and from the mental images his mind was providing him with. It seemed that whenever it came to Ciel, nothing was ever easily accomplished.

Grabbing the boy's arms, Sebastian carefully extracted them from around him and gently moved him back to the couch. He didn't dare breath until he was a good two feet away and the boy was still sound asleep.

"Sebastian."

The older male froze at his name, foot in the doorway. For a heart-stopping moment doubts flooded his mind. Had he been up the entire time? Had he woken him up at some point in the middle?

"Se-Se-Sebastian!"

The doubts fled with the realization that the boy was still asleep, but instead they were replaced with something more troubling. His name leaving that perfect mouth in such a way it almost sounded like a moan, had a way of sending heat directly down to his cock.

Rationally he knew he should leave, but something glued him to the spot as he watched the younger's face twist up with whatever pleasurable dreams his sleeping mind was supplying- and it certainly was a sight. Flushed cheeks and parted lips seemed to be beckoning him to come and take advantage of the situation. He had half the mind to do so too. To go over there and ravage the other like he was asking for.

The moment his foot was drifting back in Ciel's direction had him shaking his head and retreating backwards. Growling at himself, he fled the room before he was tempted any further and it was perhaps the hardest thing he had to ever do.

Damn that boy was going to be the death of him.


	11. Ch 11 Missing Persons

**Chapter Eleven**

Scarlet eyes narrowed onto the typed print on the sheets of paper before him, two dark eyebrows knitting together at the center of his forehead. The investigator sighed heavily before lifting a fresh cigarette to his lips, leaving it to rest there as he continued to flip through the file work.

It was only on rare occasions that Sebastian even considered having a smoke. It was a rather nasty habit he'd learned to curb a few years back, but every now and again the ugly craving would rear its head up and make its demands known. Usually these points frequented times when he was under the gun or aggravated with some incompetent idiot, but there were a few other things that could trigger the urge to take a drag from a cigarette.

Never before had he himself been the cause behind the urge.

"Boss?"

Sebastian's gaze flickered up to rest upon, Bard. The other male stood in the doorway, eyes uncharacteristically weary as they regarded him.

"What is it, Bard?" The raven haired male sighed, breaking eye contact to flick ash into the nearly empty ashtray. "I'm not going to bite."

The other's face didn't read that he had been convinced much by the the investigator's cool reassurance, but he stepped inside the office anyway. His eyes looked from the lit cigarette now resting lazily in between Sebastian's fingers to the other's eyes. He arched an eyebrow, the question silently hanging in the air between them.

Sebastian sighed once more before leaning back, not sure if he wanted to address that question. Much to the contrary belief, he considered Bard a trusted confidant. Their history extended back to their high school days, when Sebastian was an outstanding junior and Bard a flunking senior attending the same school. There might have been a few sore spots in the older, considering Sebastian had always managed to achieve the things Bard never quite could and always doing it at a younger age. With age however those riffs had seemed to mellow and, while they'd never gotten much closer outside of work besides the occasional drink shared at a local bar, inside work there was an unspoken agreement to hold the other accountable so that the personal didn't affect the professional.

However, his self control, or lack thereof, was something he'd much rather leave out of the other's loop of knowledge. Sebastian was still particularly disgusted with himself over what happened this morning and how he'd even let himself entertain such thoughts for even a moment. So instead of filling Bard in, Sebastian snuffed out the cause of his concern and quickly redirected the discussion into safer waters.

"You came in here for a reason, Bard?"

The question snapped the man back to attention. For a moment he seemed to retreat into a pensive state, scratching his head in thought as if he had to think back long and hard on why he had originally come to retrieve the investigator. Sebastian fought to remain as patient as he dared, but even so he only had so much. Bard was trending on the remaining strand of it with the audacity he was showing by putting concerns over his work.

Figuring the other had forgotten whatever had brought him in, Sebastian reached for the papers he'd been reviewing before he was interrupted. He wouldn't waste time waiting on an explanation that might never come. It would put him behind that much further and he couldn't afford that. It was only a matter of time before something happened- may it be another case or another appearance from their murderer- and having other work cluttering up his office, waiting to get finished, would only get in the way of performing to his full ability.

"They found another body."

The sudden silence that fell in the room following the announcement was broken by the sound of Sebastian's fingers closing around his keys, the files he'd been reviewing scattering themselves across the surface of his desk- long forgotten. The raven haired male stood up, sending his chair rolling backwards as he strode towards the door with Bard following closely at his heels. In all honesty he had expected something to happen soon. A murderer with this record didn't simply quit cold turkey and with a city filled with an unlimited amount of targets, Sebastian had suspected that the temptation to kill would have been too great to ignore.

"Where?" He barked.

Bard, used to Sebastian's whiplash moments, was prepared to answer now. "Upper east end. At the Elysium resort."

Sebastian gave a small nod to show he'd heard before he disappeared from the other's sight as he ducked into his car. He wasn't looking forward to the time that would be wasted in getting to the scene. The location was on the complete opposite side of the city and in the polar opposite part of town than the last murder had taken place. Having familiarized himself with the city early on in his career he could clearly picture the well lit streets and historic buildings. The district was clean and, most disturbingly, crime free for the most part. Something like this would stir up more unwanted attention than if a body had been found in other zones.

The investigator ground his teeth at the thought. Civilians never seemed to grasp the concept that their presence only caused a problem for the authorities who had to get in there and do their job. Though residents and gawking crowds were not nearly as bad as the press. Reporters were nightmares for people like him. They flocked like rabid dogs to scenes that were unusual or ones that they knew their viewers would eat up.

His frown deepened as scarlet orbs viewed the police cars blocking up the street leading to the site of the murder. Beyond the flashing blue and red lights, he could see the illuminated crowd that stood behind the blockade set up to prevent them from moving any closer. He didn't even want to consider a head count as he parked beside one of the cruisers.

"I was wondering when you would show up."

Sebastian inclined his head towards the voice, unsurprised to find the police chief leveling him a cold look. He could only smirk in response, waving a hand towards the building before him.

"The scene?"

William pushed his square rimmed glasses further up his noise and made a stiff gesture for the investigator to follow him. Sebastian stayed close behind the male's heels as the two cut through the crowd with some effort and entered the building through the modified revolving doors at the front of the resort.

There were perhaps a hundred and one things separating this crime scene from the pervious one that first drew attention to the serial killer's presence in the city. Many of them revolved around the simple class factor. The discovery of the pervious body had been in a district that was well known for their high crime rates and a whore house where witnesses turned a blind eye to illegal activities for a bit of money. It was unnerving to think that the killer was getting either braver or cockier with himself that he would feel confident enough to place a kill in such a prim and proper neighborhood.

"One of my men is currently questioning the lobbyist who claimed to have seen the victim before she was murdered," William stated when he saw the investigator's eyes catch on a woman waving her hands animatedly before a uniformed officer.

"I'll have to talk to her later," Sebastian informed William, as the police chief led him up the flight of stairs at the back of the entranceway.

The blacked haired chief glared at the investigator. "My officers are capable of giving you the information."

"I'm not doubting their capabilities," Sebastian quickly remarked, a growing smirk tugging at his lips. "However I like to keep my resources from the first hand sources."

William looked no more soothed than he had a moment before, but nodded stiffly in a reluctant form of acceptance of the other's words. "I'll ask her to remain here so you can question her once you're done in there."

As he finished, he pointed to the door before them in a clear gesture for the other to proceed with his work. His pervious smirk grew at the impatient look he earned, when the male lingered at the door examining the handle for any signs of damage. Sebastian wasn't daft, he knew that William only wished for him to get lost. The sooner he left, the better is what the cop was clearly thinking. It only made Sebastian want to linger as long as possible just to get on the other's nerves. The game of annoying William never grew old and the other made it too easy.

Deeming the handle to be in top shape, with no visible signs of tampering, Sebastian finally snapped on a pair of gloves and proceeded into the room where part of his team was already rushing about snapping photos of the scene. He took a quick look over the layout of the suite, noting that nothing looked noticeably out of place before he moved on to the bedroom where he was positive the body was laid.

The victim this time was a raven haired female, late teens to early twenties if he was forced to guess. Like all the other pervious murders, she looked peaceful- as if she were laying asleep on her bed rather than dead. The splash of bright color on her white, virginal dress drew Sebastian attention to the red rose nestled between her ivory fingers.

"The crime fits the pervious crimes MOs," a red headed woman stated over a clipboard. "No visible damage to the body or signs of violence. It's almost as if she died in her sleep."

Sebastian gave an appreciative nod, eyes never straying far from the rose. Upon a closer look he could clearly see the state of the petals; how they were a slightly darker red color, dulling around the edges into a nearly black color. It was almost as if the killer was taunting them. Providing them with a wilting rose, as if he were trying to tell them that this wasn't finished just yet.

"Collect the rose and take it to the lab to see if they can get finger prints from it," Sebastian ordered.

The woman nodded and quickly reached with gloved hands for the flower. Her movements were gentle as she extracted the thorny steam from between the cold fingers. The flower was halfway out when a white flutter caught both her and the investigator's eyes. A piece of folded paper fell to the blankets besides the victim's body, standing out against the black blankets.

"Wrapping?" The woman asked as Sebastian picked it up.

While she seemed to be sure that the paper was just there to protect the hand from getting pricked, Sebastian was less convinced as he turned it over in his hand. The male carefully unfolded the white sheet until he could see the scrawling handwriting decorating the entire page in large, neat lettering.

_Not the one._

"Bag it and have Bard run the handwriting for analysis."

The red head glanced at him curiously as she watched Sebastian proceed towards the door. "What does it say?"

"He's taunting us now," Sebastian grumbled over his shoulder.

He didn't stay to see her puzzled look as he headed straight back downstairs to ask their witness questions. He was getting cockier, Sebastian decided, and was throwing caution into the wind now. Yet they were not nearly close enough to knowing who he was. As it stood the only clues they had were the way he killed and the note hinted that perhaps he was searching for someone. His only hope was that the woman downstairs had seen something, anything that could point them one step closer to unveiling the bastard's identity.

The officer that had been seen questioning the lobbyist was still with her when Sebastian entered the lobby. Now that he was more focused on the two, the male recognized the questioner as the rookie from the first murder scene. Ronald, if Sebastian remembered his name correctly, was currently leaning against the wall openly flirting with the woman. Even though her face was swollen and red from crying, she was smiling back; laughing at whatever it was the young cop had told her as Sebastian approached.

"Officer Knox, are you always..." her voice trailed off the moment her brown eyes locked on the approaching male.

Ronald turned slowly to see what she was looking at and smiled broadly at the sight of the raven haired male. Sebastian was less thrilled with the sight of him, a small frown pulling his lips downwards.

"Boss told me you would be coming to interview her," he grinned turning to the lobbyist then. "This is Sebastian Michaelis, he would like to ask you a few questions to help with his investigation. If you'd like, I could come back when he's done..."

"That will be all, Knox," Sebastian cut in briskly, eyes flashing in warning at the rookie cop.

The younger male shrugged it off, "Ah well~! Boss is probably looking for me anyway. It was a pleasure talking with you, Miss."

The black haired investigator watched Ronald walk off with a small scowl on his face and the need to release a pent up sigh of frustration. The woman besides him seemed to hold a different opinion of the rookie, smiling softly at the backwards wave he sent her just before he disappeared out into the fringe of flashing red and blue lights outside.

This time Sebastian did sigh as he turned towards her, before clearing his throat to gain her attention.

"I think it would be best to start out with what you saw tonight."

The woman blinked and looked up at him, blushing slightly. "Oh um, yes."

"I saw Mona come in around six this evening. It's unusual to see her so early in the evening, what with her job and all, so I remember being surprised at seeing her. However I dismissed it when I saw the man she was-"

"The man, what did he look like?" Sebastian questioned, looking at her expectantly.

She screwed her face up thoughtfully. "He was... taller. Light haired. I couldn't see his eye color, but he was dressed finely. If I were to guess I would say he came from money or had some."

Nodding, Sebastian wrote down the notes carefully. It wasn't a very revealing description, there were a great many males in the city who could possibly fit under that description. However it was a lead and that was better than running around in the dark.

"Was there anything else suspicious you noticed about the man?"

She nodded readily then. "Around eight thirty I saw him leave. Normally, I wouldn't have been bothered- we see so many different men come and go with Mona- but he seemed like he was in a rush to get somewhere. I told someone to take my place for a moment so I could check on her to see if she was okay- I guess you could say the recent murder had me overly concerned-... and that's when I discovered her body."

Sebastian nodded slowly, jotting down his final thoughts on that before looking up at her with scarlet orbs. "Is that all?"

The lobbyist smiled sadly, looking dismayed as she answered, "Unfortunately. I would love to help you guys get him, but I didn't see anything else."

"That's alright," Sebastian sighed, pocking the notes he did manage to get. He hadn't realized he'd been hoping for something more until the disappointment pressed down on him like a ton of bricks. "It's a lot more than what we did have to go on."

"I hope it'll be enough for now then," she stated hopefully, with a weak smile as she wrapped her arms around herself. "It'll give everyone a peaceful mind and a good night's rest once this man is off the streets."

"We're doing our best to accomplish that," Sebastian assured her. "Until then please stick around in the general area and if you see anything- or if you happen to see the man again- please give me a call."

He extended out a hand with a white business card pinched between his thumb and forefinger. The woman took it gently from his hand and looked over the typed print on the plain card carefully, before clutching it securely to her chest like it was a lifeline.

"I will," she promised, pausing before she continued in a softer voice. "You know it's a relief to everyone that you're on the case... The whole city believes you'll be able to find him. They have just as much hope in you as they did for the Watchdog."

Sebastian was taken by surprise by her words, but was incredibly grateful for them. Vincent Phantomhive had been a man many people aspired to be and to Sebastian he had a great mentor. There weren't many people who could claim they've accomplished what he had; a man who had committed his life to doing good for his city, even dying in the line of duty. He was truly someone to look up to.

"I hope that I don't let them down then," he muttered to himself, before flashing a polite smile to the woman. "Thank you for your time, but I must be going."

The male left before he could hear her response, leaving through the front entrance and out into the mass of orderly chaos. Scarlet eyes flitted from face to face in the mass of cops, vaguely recognizing a few as he slipped through them. His gaze stopped however on the chief's usually stony expression, which was drawn in a tight line that teetered on the edge of concerned. The expression was enough to unsettle Sebastian and drew him away from his original path towards his car, setting him in straight shot towards the green eyed cop.

"Humphries, take Slingby and Knox with you to investigate at the club. I'll spread another team out through the city to look for him," Will barked at the thin brunette male standing at attention before him.

Sebastian watched as the male nodded and signaled another blonde male and Ronald to follow him before running off towards two of the cruisers. He watched them for a moment longer before he turned his attention to William, who was now staring at him.

"What is going on, Spears?" Sebastian questioned.

The cop's lips thinned, before he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Nothing that you can do anything about yet, Michaelis."

Red eyes narrowed threateningly. "Must I repeat myself."

William pursed his lips before sighing, "The precinct recieved a missing persons call and radioed it to us."

Sebastian's eyebrows knit together, he had the faint suspicion that there was more the cop was withholding from him. "Why?"

"The call came from the nightclub Écarlate concerning the sudden disappearance of one of their star performers. They're assuming that his disappearance might be connected to our serial killer," Spears responded sharply.

For a moment it was as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. The words shot like ice through Sebastian veins, freezing out everything around him and focusing his mind on the single sentence that seemed to threaten his entire world. He didn't hear anything else that William said. His mind screamed at him to move, do something, drowning out everything else.

_Ciel._

Suddenly all he could think of were pictures of the entertainer. The cold, proud pout he seemed to always wear on his full lips. The way his cheeks glowed a faint rosy hue every time they got too close. The rare smile that Sebastian had only managed to catch glimpses of. The excitement the boy had shown at the mention of seeing a beach. That blue orb that seemed endless, drowning anyone who looked into it too long...

"Where do you think you're going, demon?"

The words halted Sebastian even before he knew he was moving. Inclining his head towards the other male.

"The club."

"No," William reached out an arm, forcing Sebastian to stop. Concern flickered in those green eyes, before the serious and aloof manner returned to them. "You can't do anything yet anyway; there are no witnesses or evidence to investigate. We'll call you if we discover anything, but for the moment there is nothing you can do. You'd just get in the way of my men."

Sebastian was forced to agree. It would be pointless for him to go there, beyond the point of torturing himself further. However he just needed to be certain it wasn't Ciel, even if all the evidence was against the boy. It would take an idiot not to notice that the entertainer fit the murderer's MO perfect. He would be the perfect target for the next murder and if Sebastian were being honest with himself, the idea frightened him.

... Though there was one way to tell for sure without going to the club.

"Michaelis! I thought I told you that you aren't to go-."

"I'm going home," Sebastian growled back before turning and, with a hurried step, headed for his car. He had an entirely different destination in mind.

* * *

><p>Tossing the now damp towel into his hamper, Ciel sighed and ran his fingers through his wet locks. His body ached from work; his feet taking the worst of it all. Trying to get Grell to exchange the killer heels he was forced to wear with flats was being seriously considered by the teen. The male doubted his feet would last much longer if he was forced to continue dancing in them. However, knowing Grell, the flamboyant red head would brush it off with his infamous 'beauty is pain' speech.<p>

Ciel picked his cell phone up from off his dresser as he lumbered his way into his kitchen. One thing and one thing only was the focus of this trip now and that was a styrofoam box filled to the brim with delicious pastries from his favorite bakery downtown. The first time he'd been there had been when Alois had dragged him by his ear into the place. It had looked like nothing more than a hole in the wall, somewhere you didn't exactly want to wonder inside of at first glance, but it had proved to be the best bakery in the city. The male had been going there ever since.

Deciding he couldn't choose just one, the cobalt haired teen grabbed a tall glass of milk and carried both the box and the cup with him to the couch. Plopping himself down, he flipped on the television and promptly opened the box of sweets. Agile fingers swiftly plucked one of the sugar coated deserts from the container, bringing it to his lips. Ciel savored each bite, barely away of what was being played on the screen in front of him as he moaned in delight at the rich flavor coating his tongue.

As he reached for his third, his phone buzzed. A single sapphire orb drifted to the device, before promptly choosing to ignore it in favor of sinking his teeth into the next one. The teen's delight was cut short by his phone going off again, followed by a knock on his door.

At this point the teen was annoyed and had a guess to who had interrupted his peace. The blonde would get a severe thrashing, he decided. Alois knew better than to bother him this late at night, especially when the other was probably drunk out of his mind. Ciel flipped the television off and hauled himself off the couch, before shuffling to the door- muttering under his breath the entire time.

"Damn bastard... fucking idiot... should know better."

Ciel unlocked the door and prepared to let loose on the other boy, but was cut short by the sight that greeted him. His one revealed eye grew in size as he took in Sebastian's tall form. The other male's face was drawn up in distress, his lips pulled into a thin line and his eyebrows drawn down. However it was those ruby orbs that had Ciel startled. There was a shadow lurking over the usually luminescent red, hiding an emotion Ciel could only describe as pain.

Opening his mouth, the younger male searched for something to say. It wasn't everyday he felt the need to comfort someone or even ask why someone had chosen him as the first person to go to when they were in such an obvious state of distress, as Sebastian now appeared to be in. But with Sebastian, Ciel felt the need to ask. He wanted that hurt and pain to disappear from those eyes. He wanted to be the one to erase that, even if he didn't know where to start.

Ciel was saved from saying anything when Sebastian caught him in an unexpected embrace. The force had the younger stumbling back three steps to keep himself standing.

"Se-Sebastian!" He squeaked.

The older responded by holding onto him even tighter, burying his face in the crook of the younger male's neck. Raven colored locks tickled his cheek as Ciel fought the urge to squirm. On any other normal occasion the teen would have shoved him away, but something- maybe it had been that look in the older's eyes- told him that Sebastian needed this. He'd just have to wait until the older was composed once more.

It felt like they had been standing three feet from the entranceway to his apartment for hours before Ciel finally felt Sebastian's hold slacken slightly. The older still didn't release him, but oddly enough Ciel didn't care. He remained willingly in the loose hold, resting his forehead against the other's shoulder.

"Are you going to tell me what brought you here at this hour?" Ciel finally asked after another long moment of silence.

Sebastian drew upright, ruby eyes searching the younger's face. Ciel had the distinct feeling that he was committing it to memory and the thought made him uneasy. What had exactly happened? Reaching up, the younger placed a hand on Sebastian's cheek. He frowned as he searched the two orbs staring down at him, trying to decipher the swirl of fear and pain behind them.

"Sebastian...?" Ciel mumbled, hoping to remind the other of his question.

The troubled look soothed slightly, but not enough to satisfy the nineteen year old. However he soon forgot all about that as Sebastian's face drew closer to his. The older stopped his descent inches away, his warm breath fanning over Ciel's face causing his heart to stutter.

"I thought it was you," he murmured in a pained voice and before Ciel was given the time to react, Sebastian's lips met his.

The kiss started off soft, merely the brushing of their lips moving together. Ciel marveled at the silky feel of the older's lips against his, willingly allowing himself to respond and press further into the other's touch. As his slight form molded to the other's lean body the kiss grew more forceful. Sebastian pressed down on him, completely engulfing the younger.

Ciel emitted a small squeak when he felt the older's tongue run across his bottom lip, asking for entrance. It was all the invitation the other needed to sneak his tongue through the opening and initiate an open mouthed kiss. The younger didn't know how to respond, but moaned lowly as Sebastian explored every inch of his mouth with his tongue before coaxing Ciel's tongue into a battle for dominance.

The entertainer broke the kiss for air, shivering as he felt Sebastian's lips descending down along his jawline and neck. The older kissed and licked at the smooth skin, drawing a low mewl from Ciel who was lost in the sensation.

Sebastian chuckled softly against the younger male's neck, letting his slim fingers slip under the bottom edge of Ciel's tee and dance across the pale skin there. The younger moaned in response and gripped at the back of Sebastian's neck, pulling him into another open mouth kiss in which Ciel pushed his tongue into the older's mouth.

There was a vague awareness in the back of Ciel's mind that tried to remind him that the door had been left open, however it was pushed aside in the favor of the larger portion which was completely becoming unraveled at the taste of Sebastian. He didn't consider that someone who mattered could discover them, if the teen had then he would have taken the time to close the door or end this blissful madness before he lost himself to it completely. If Ciel had known who would end up showing up at his doorstep he might never have allowed the kiss in the first place, however his mind didn't think of any of this until it was too late.

"Ciel Phantomhive."

Said male broke the kiss on an abrupt note, his body going rigid in Sebastian's arms. A single blue orb carefully looked over the older's shoulders, but he didn't need to see the person to know who she was.

"... Angela."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Whoop! Past the first one hundred pages and my semi-first boyxboy kiss (you have no idea how strange that was for me to write /a;khfdakhfkal/). Anyway it's late and I have exams tomorrow so I don't have much to say except: **don't forget to review!** Bye for now~_


	12. Ch 12 First and Last

_**A/N:**__ Short chapter is short. Good news is next chapter is planned out to be much longer and I've finally worked out the event kinks between this chapter and the ending chapters- sadly there will be more than enough angst, drama, a plethora of fluff, oh and a very lovely smut scene. _

_**Warning(s):** Ciel is slightly OOC here though I tried my best to keep him IC and plenty of Angela ('nough said). _

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Angela Phantomhive had always been someone who carried herself in a way that demanded the room's attention. Rumors said it was that charming air about her, but Ciel, well Ciel knew better than that. She was about as charming as a snake. Angela's true nature was to be threatening and on some subconscious level everyone felt it. Her cutting lavender gaze was void of any mercy- a secret promise to carry out any threat that spilled from her full lips- and she had the power do so. Ciel had seen it first hand on many occasions, the way she manipulated her connections to bring harm to others. Angela was exactly the type of person his father had loathed, but the man had been blind to that side of her.

All the pervious built up heat lurking in his body from the kiss sizzled out as he met her narrowed gaze. There was a very thin veil hiding the disgust on her face, but the fact that she was trying to cover it was perhaps more frightening than if she had just been open with it. It meant she was plotting something and from experience he knew it would never spell good things for him.

Sebastian's hand moved to squeeze his shoulder and it was only then that Ciel realized how he'd stiffened up. Forcing himself to take a clam breath, the teen forced his body to ease up- but not relax. He wanted to be prepared should some unfortunate 'accident' occur again; he would always be on his guard around her.

"We need to talk," Angela spoke evenly, shooting a glare at Sebastian. "Alone."

She didn't need to say it twice.

"Sebastian, leave please." Ciel kept his gaze away from those scarlet eyes the entire time he spoke. He felt them bearing down on him, but he couldn't look into them. He couldn't see whatever emotions were there.

"Ciel-."

"Now, Sebastian," Ciel snapped in a stern voice that invited no protest.

"Very well."

Each sound Sebastian's retreating footsteps made sent a stab to Ciel's gut, right up until the finale blow of the door slamming shut behind the older male. The entire time, the teen forced himself not to look up. The young male didn't want to burn the image of the older's retreating form into his mind, he didn't want that to be the last image he had of the man. Because there was no way it wouldn't be the last. If Angela didn't do the job, Ciel had certainly made that certain by sending him away in such a manner with no explanation. He wouldn't be surprised if Sebastian didn't want to see him again- the older probably assumed he was disgusted with being caught with him.

But the truth was Ciel only wanted to protect him from Angela.

"How dare you," she hissed, stepping forward moments after the door slammed shut. "We have an agreement, Ciel. Are you trying to disobey me or have you already forgotten?"

The way she cocked her head to the side reminded Ciel of a hawk looking down at its prey. The anger in her lavender eyes was now burning furiously as she closed the last few steps between them. Ciel bowed his head to avoid staring directly into the glare, wishing himself anywhere but there.

"Answer me, filth," she ordered.

"No," Ciel responded hollowly.

Angela snapped out a hand and wretched Ciel's chin up, so that he was forced to met her gaze. "No, what?"

"No, madame."

Her eyes narrowed into silts. "Filth," she spat, dropping his chin only to deliver a slap to his cheek. Ciel didn't mutter a sound as he head snapped to the side, his cheek burning under the after effects of the impact. He didn't raise a finger to press against the pained skin, both because he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him react or for her to have a reason to deliver another blow.

As suddenly as her anger had been quick to show itself, Angela was quick to turn tender. She gentle took Ciel's face in her hands, paying special attention to the reddening skin on his cheek where the raised finger prints were just beginning to develop. Almost soothingly she ran her cool fingers over the skin, careful not to apply too much pressure, as if she were afraid of hurting him.

"You must understand, Ciel," Angela cooed. "I am only looking after your best interest. A marriage into the Middleford family would do you well. You'd be set for life with a good career and a beautiful wife."

She clearly didn't care for that, but Ciel didn't bother to point this out to her; it was something both of them understood. The only thing that Angela showed interest in was the future merger between the two companies and securing that. The marriage was just a ways of achieving that and she'd exploit Ciel to do so.

What angered Ciel about it all was that she had the power to do so. All because of his father's will, he was stuck under her power longer than he should have been. It all should have ended with his eighteenth birthday; with the dawning of that day he should have been able to walk away without ever having to feel the choking hold she had on him. He was collared like some mutt by that will, forced to be under her guardianship and influence for two more years. It didn't seem like it would be enough time for her to do damage, but it seemed Angela would always find a way to make his life hell.

"Now," she began in a soft voice, fingers slipping under the velvet of his eye patch and freezing him in place. "All I ask of you is to give that lovely girl the first date of her dreams tomorrow. If this happens everything will go perfectly. However, if tomorrow passes and I don't hear news from her parents explaining what a wonderful surprise their daughter got when you asked her out, there will be unnecessary trouble."

Ciel flinched as his eye patch was removed, left to flutter to the floor as Angela's fingers gently caressed the pale eyelid. The touch brought back unwanted memories that he forced back before they could cause him to slip into a panic attack under their influence. The action was a silent reminder of what she was capable of. It wasn't one of the worst, but it was one of the two visibly physical reminders.

Even with the present threat, the teen found himself hesitating, thoughts turning back to the unexpected kiss he and Sebastian had shared only moments before. It was impossible to try to convince himself he hadn't enjoyed the feeling of the man's lips and body pressed against his or that he hadn't wanted it. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't want a repeat. The lingering question dancing around the edge of his mind, putting a dark edge to the otherwise pleasure filled memories, was if the older had even meant anything by it. From the beginning it had be clear Sebastian had been distressed, it was very possible that he hadn't been thinking clearly. The thought caused Ciel's chest to tighten.

It wouldn't matter what the case was, even if Sebastian did care for him, if he went with Angela's plans there would be no going back. There would be no finding out whether the kiss meant anything to the older, there wouldn't even be any contact if Angela had a say. That hurt him possible the most. Sebastian had become such a permanent fixture in his life during the past few months that the teen couldn't even imagine his life without the older in it. Call him selfish, but he wasn't ready to let him go just yet.

His sudden reluctance must have been visible in his expression, because Angela's grip tightened and her eyes turned searching. It was a struggle to keep his face masked and collected as he was forced to look directly at her prying gaze. He managed it, but just barely.

"You are hesitating," she mused, her sweet expression clashing oddly against her devious eyes. "Is it that man?"

Ciel swallowed hard against the suddenly rising lump in his throat.

Leaning closer, Angela smiled. "Is it possible that you love him?"

The blush that rose to his cheeks was inevitable, especially when that word rose in any conversation. Love? He had sworn never to love anyone, to let himself become vulnerable in such a way. There were certainly feelings there for Sebastian, but love? He didn't know.

"Oh, it's quite obvious you feel for him," Angela laughed softly, pulling away completely. "Which is why you wouldn't want to see any harm come to him."

Ciel's eyes widened in horror as he froze over complete- the breath in his lungs escaping at that one sentence. He had expected himself to get punished, but hearing her so blatantly threaten Sebastian was the equivalent to if she had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head: unexpected and harsh. Angela smiled broadly at his expression, her eyes suddenly mocking as she stood back and enjoyed his miniature panic attack.

"You wouldn't...," Ciel trailed off softly, battling the raging fear in his chest.

Angela grinned. "If you continue a relationship with that man, Ash will be having a very fun evening."

Ciel's face paled to a gray pallor, flashes of a masculine version of Angela's face flickering across his memories. They were all twisted and disturbing filled with maniacal cheshire cat smiles, sadistic glints in lavender eyes, and blood spattered skin. He made Angela look like an angel on even her worst days.

There wasn't a criminal who didn't know Ash, he was one of the best known killers in the underground world. A man who was smart enough and talented enough to always get away with whatever crime he committed. He was Angela's dark twin, her dirty hands. She used him to get rid of people or to deal out punishment, such as in Ciel's case. The man left more than just physical scars on the teen's body and it was for that very reason the idea of the two males meeting shot terror into his veins.

"So have we reach an agreement?" Angela cooed smugly, eyes dancing as she watched the horror and hopelessness wash across the boy's face. Ciel nodded mutely, too afraid to speak in case his voice cracked under the pain and fear. She smiled at the sight of obedience and patted his head sweetly. "Good boy. Here is Elizabeth's number, I should be hearing from her proud parents tomorrow night then, right?"

Once again Ciel nodded silently as he took the piece of paper from Angela's outstretched hand, his eyes blindly looking at the blur of numbers as he barely heard the click of her heels heading for the doorway.

"I'm so proud of you for making the right choice, Ciel. You're saving that man's life," Angela stated smugly, moments before the door shut behind her.

Ciel remained rooted to the spot she'd left him, numb and in denial. It took moments for him to slowly begin moving mechanically once more. First it was his right arm, then his left, followed by his left leg, and slowly his right. He bent down to grab his eye patch, clutching it along with the paper and his cell in his hands as he headed for his room. The patch found itself placed on his nightstand, the piece of paper beside it. He was about to place his cell phone on top of it, when the machine flared to life with a blinking reminder of two missed calls and their respective voice mails.

He almost didn't want to deal with whatever it was at the moment, but the possibility that they were messages left by Sebastian had him pausing. They had appeared right before the man showed up at his door, perhaps they explained what had put the man in such a distress. The reason didn't really matter now, but his curiosity was stirred awake by the idea- pushing him through the numbness.

The first was left by a very frantic Grell spouting barely understandable nonsense at the voicemail. Ciel flinched at the high pitched whine of his boss's voice, prepared to delete the message just as the male demanded for him to call back when he got the message.

The second and last was from a only slightly calmer Meyrin. Her voice babbled on worriedly, sometimes her sentences bled together to make them even harder to understand. The only intelligent words he caught out of the entire message was the repetition of Alois' name and a demand for him to call her back as soon as he got the message.

Just as he was deleting the last message, his phone buzzed to life and without thinking, he accepted the call.

"Ciel!"

Said teen pulled the phone a few inches away from his ear cringing. Waiting a moment until the other line was silent, Ciel cautious placed the phone back to his ear. "Mey?"

The girl on the other end sighed. "Thank god, you are alright. We were starting to think that you were actually kidnapped, we were."

Ciel frowned and instead of wondering why they would assume that, let his thoughts turn to think on how much better it would have been if he had been kidnapped. The idea was just beginning to sound rather pleasant when Meyrin's voice interrupted his line of thoughts.

"Grell told me to call to tell you to ignore our pervious messages," she stated cheerfully. "Alois was found at Claude's apartment. He and Claude had snuck out before their shifts ending without telling anyone, they did."

"He was found?"

Ciel could almost visualize Meyrin nodding her head as she hummed in response. "Everyone had thought he was kidnapped earlier this evening when no one could find him. The police got involved and everything. We were starting to think he'd become a victim of that new serial killer, we were."

With a sinking revelation Ciel recalled Sebastian's words right before he kissed him. He had thought it was him that had gone missing, not Alois. It suddenly made sense why he had appeared so disheveled when Ciel had opened the door to him- the investigator had been... afraid.

Numbly, the teen dropped back against the wall. Did that mean he cared for him? He had to if he had rushed over to find out if Ciel was home or not. At least in some way Sebastian cared for him and if the kiss had meant anything to the older male than that care was something more than a simple friendship. Ciel ran his fingers roughly through his cobalt locks, cursing how cruel fate was. Of course it would dangle something like this just within his reach when it knew he couldn't reach out and take it.

Angela and her threat blocked him from truly finding out.

"Ciel?"

Said teen sighed, "Yes, Mey?"

"Are you alright? You don't sound like you usually do," she commented, worry creeping into her tone. "You would usually complain about Alois being a, and these are your words not mine, 'fucking idiot', you would. Is there anything wrong?"

Ciel flinched and hung his head between his knees. No he was not alright, but he wasn't about to explain that to her. His life was complicated enough without other people knowing the ongoing private affairs. He didn't need anyone's pity and he certainly wasn't going to accept it.

"It's nothing," he remarked coldly, hanging up.

"… Absolutely nothing."


End file.
